MILAN – Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin helped Team USA advance to the men’s hockey quarterfinals, picking up an assist in his third game at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Larkin faced Wings teammate Moritz Seider on Sunday, Feb. 15, in the game that left the Americans 3-0 after the preliminary round; he could face Wings teammate Lucas Raymond on Wednesday at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. That will depend on whether Raymond’s Sweden defeats Latvia in qualification play on Tuesday. Seider’s Germans, meanwhile, will play France – the next-to-lowest-seeded squad – for a chance to advance and face Slovakia on Wednesday.
The U.S. took down Germany, 5-1, Sunday to finish group play. USA also defeated Group C cohorts Latvia and Denmark.
“The fun started tonight and I thought we battled and started to ramp it up for the big ones,” Larkin said. “I think Denmark [on Saturday] gave us a good test and we showed resiliency. Tonight, I think we got the start down and kind of brought our game right away. These international games with a tighter ice surface, anything can happen. You’ve got to be ready to go and you’ve got to capitalize on your chances.”
Larkin set up linemate Tage Thompson’s goal to give the US a 4-0 lead. Larkin has been centering USA’s third line and is a key part of the penalty kill.
“Larks is an important player for us,” USA coach Mike Sullivan said. “He brings all the intangibles. He can skate. He defends well. He can win faceoffs. He can play against anybody because of his speed and his ability to play on both sides of the puck. He’s a big part of our penalty kill, and he’s one of the go-to guys in that situation. He’s a real important player for us.”
Larkin called the USA team “special and it’s fun to be out there with them. You almost don’t want it to end so we’ve got to keep going and keep playing for each other to keep having fun.”
For Seider, it was a disappointing finish to round-robin play. The Germans finished with back-to-back losses to Latvia and USA. But France came out of the round winless, meaning the path is certainly there for the Germans to make it to the quarterfinals.
“A little devastated today,” Seider said after Sunday’s loss. “I think still there are plenty of positive things to take away. I think the start, they have been great. And all three games, that’s something we’ve got to continue. But 20 minutes isn’t enough to play with the big nations.
“I think if we play like that against France, I think we give ourselves a really good chance to advance. That’s definitely something we’ve got to focus on.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: In battle of Red Wings, Dylan Larkin leads US to Olympic quarterfinals
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
