Tkachuk’s power-play goal swings USA-Latvia standings Saturday

USA vs – With the U.S. already on the edge of the men’s hockey world championships quarterfinals race, the Americans faced Latvia on Saturday, May 23 at 6:20 a.m. ET in Zurich. A power-play strike from Matthew Tkachuk gave Team USA a 1-1 tie late in the second period,

The stakes were immediate for the U.S. men’s hockey team at the IIHF world championships—because the quarterfinal door was only half open.

The defending champion resumed play on Saturday, May 23, in decent position but still needing wins to secure a quarterfinals berth. The United States entered the day in fourth place in Group A. one spot—by points—away from the cutoff line to advance. The Americans held five points and faced seventh-place Latvia, which had three points, with puck drop at 6:20 a.m. ET at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, Switzerland.

If the United States won in regulation, it would move to eight points. If Latvia won, it would pass the United States in the standings.

Before that mattered on the scoreboard, the moment around the team carried another kind of weight. After winning Olympic gold, Team USA honored late NHL star Johnny Gaudreau by carrying his jersey and inviting his kids onto the ice.

The U.S. then came into this stretch coming off a gritty comeback: it rallied to beat Germany in a shootout in its previous game.

Against Latvia, the flow of play tilted early. The Americans continued to outshoot Latvia badly and they connected in the period. In the second period, Matthew Tkachuk scored with eight seconds left in a power play after a USA faceoff win. It was his first goal and his first point in his second game. and he had arrived in Switzerland for the USA–Germany game. The goal came on the USA’s 34th shot of the game. and Oliver Moore and Danny Nelson earned the assists.

USA 1, Latvia 1.

Latvia hadn’t gone quietly. Haralds Egle scored at 8:47 to give Latvia the lead, beating Devin Cooley. Even so, the U.S. outshot Latvia 18–5 in the first period and couldn’t get the breakthrough against Kristers Gudlevskis, a 2013 Lightning draft pick who played three NHL games.

Through two periods, shots stood at 36–11 in favor of the Americans.

The U.S. also had its end-of-preliminary-round schedule set around the results that unfolded here. The Americans wrap up the preliminary round against third-place Austria and sixth-place Hungary.

That sequence—Latvia sitting three points behind the U.S., the U.S. needing a regulation win to jump to eight points. and the game’s lopsided shot count—made every late swing on the scoreboard feel like it could decide more than just one game. The standings were close enough that a single outcome could flip the order in Group A.

The match was broadcast on NHL Network and streamed via Fubo and certain tiers of Sling that carry NHL Network.

Team USA Latvia men's hockey world championship IIHF Matthew Tkachuk Johnny Gaudreau Group A standings quarterfinals berth Swiss Life Arena Zurich