Slovakia beat the United States 3-2 in a shootout in the 2022 Olympics quarterfinals on its way to a bronze medal in Beijing.
Tournament MVP Juraj Slafkovsky, who scored in that game as a 17-year-old, is back with Slovakia, but Team USA is loaded with NHL players and Slovakia has only seven.
The United States has done well against teams with fewer NHL players, beating Latvia, Denmark and Germany by a combined score of 16-5. It also got past NHL-filled Sweden 2-1 in overtime. Slovakia is 3-1 in Milan and upset Finland in the opener.
Who will win Friday’s semifinal game and advance to the gold medal game? USA TODAY Network staffers weigh in:
Mike Brehm, USA TODAY
USA 3, Slovakia 2: Goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been one of the better goalies in the tournament. That alone should be enough to get the USA to the championship game. But the Americans also have been finding enough offense and have overcome any adversity that comes their way.
Jace Evans, USA TODAY
USA 5, Slovakia 2: The talent difference will again be on display in this one. While the USA got a scare in the quarterfinals, it came from a Sweden team that brought an equal number of NHL players to the Games. Slovakia has just seven NHL players in its lineup.
Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press
USA 4, Slovakia 2: The Americans faced their first real adversity in the quarterfinals, unable to score on Sweden the way the Americans had done in the round robin. They had to reset after losing a 1-0 lead with 91 seconds to play in regulation, and came out of it looking aces. Slovakia has had a great tournament, but the USA has superior depth.