MILAN – The first question William Nylander faced in his English-language media session on Monday was about the potential of facing Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Auston Matthews in the quarter-finals at the Olympics.

“We have to play Latvia first,” the winger said with a smile.

After finishing third in its preliminary-round group, Sweden will need to beat Latvia in the qualification round on Tuesday in order to set up a blockbuster showdown with the United States on Wednesday. The Americans won all three of their games in the preliminary round to earn a bye to the quarter-finals.

While Sweden plays the late game on Tuesday, the Americans will be resting up after their most convincing performance of the tournament. Matthews scored twice and added an assist in Sunday’s 5-1 win over Germany.

“I’m feeling good,” Team USA’s captain said. “Obviously it’s not about me personally. I think it’s about the team. Everybody’s contributing and doing the right things, the little things that go a long way. We had a great effort from everybody from the drop of the puck.”

Matthews is tied for the team scoring lead with five points.

The Tkachuk brothers were also at their best on Sunday. Matthew and Brady helped shut down Leon Draisiatl and let the Edmonton Oilers superstar centre hear about it with some chirps.

“They do a little bit of everything,” Matthews said. “They’re a pain in the ass to play against. They make it hard on the opposition at all times. They’ve had a lot of success in the NHL playing that brand of hockey and it’s no different over here. It’s nice to be on this side with them.”

Team USA’s🇺🇸 Matthew Tkachuk on his “always a bridesmaid” chirp at Germany’s🇩🇪 Leon Draisaitl:

“Some guys you got to play, you know, harder than most, physically and maybe after the whistle sometimes, too. But I thought our line, I thought [Eichel] especially, did an…

— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) February 15, 2026

The Americans appear to be rounding into form, though they haven’t truly been tested so far in wins against Latvia, Denmark and Germany. So, the hockey world is already anticipating the chance to see two hockey powers face off with the ignominy of an early Olympic exit on the line.

Nylander is looking to elevate his game after posting a goal and an assist in the preliminary round.

“It’s a lot of fun competing against the best players in the world and seeing where your level’s at,” he said.

Nylander has missed two practices in Milan for maintenance, but was a full participant in Monday’s workout.

Sweden won two of three games in the group stage, but so did Finland and Slovakia. The Swedes fell to third due to the goal differential tiebreaker. What’s the mood like around the Tre Kronor squad?

“It’s great,” assured defenceman Victor Hedman. “Excited to go play an Olympic elimination game. These things don’t come along very often. It doesn’t matter if it’s a [qualification] round instead of a quarter-final. We’d rather be on the ice than have a day off tomorrow.”

“I think good things come from adversity,” said defenceman Rasmus Dahlin. “In the past, Sweden has always won the round robin games and cruised to the playoffs, so now it’s different and hopefully it will help us.”

Head coach Sam Hallam is stressing positives with his group. He believes they have played a lot of good hockey, especially in their last game against Slovakia.

“My job now is just preparing the team and making everybody understand and remember how good we are, how many good minutes we have out there and go out there and do that tomorrow,” Hallam said.

A late penalty against Slovakia led to a goal that swung the tiebreaker against them. A short-handed goal allowed against Finland swung the momentum in that game, which ended in a loss.

“We’ve been tested,” Hallam said. “Like, overall, if you look at our games, we’ve done a lot of really good minutes. Overall, we played some really good hockey. There’s been these small margins coming up against us.”

Nylander believes his team needs more offensive-zone time. Hedman is looking for a better start. Dahlin is calling for more of a north-south approach. The pressure is on to find the right formula.

“We’re focused on what we have in that room and not reading too much into what’s being said about us,” Hedman said. “We know the quality we have and skill that we have so nothing really to doubt inside that room.”

“This is why I play hockey,” said Dahlin. “This is where I want to be. This is what I love.”