Auston Matthews finally addressed the hit that had Team USA holding its breath
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Team USA captain Auston Matthews escaped an injury scare in the first game of the Olympics, but admitted it wasn't anything he couldn't shake off given the situation.
Coming into the 2026 Milan Olympics, the US Men's Ice Hockey group is arguably the strongest it has ever been, and a showdown with Canada seems all but certain -- but they have to get there first.
That starts with the preliminary rounds and while the USA squad came away with a 5-1 victory over Latvia, it wasn't without a tense time for both the Americans and Leafs fans.
Auston Matthews escaped injury to be big part of Team USA win
Matthews took a hit that seemingly shook him up something good, and everyone held their breath as he was getting evaluated and afterwards gave his thoughts on the situation.
Speaking to reporters, Matthews explained that although he got rocked, he was not to worried about missing any time:
It's pretty cool. This is just a special opportunity & still feels pretty surreal to be here.
Thankfully for everyone involved, Matthews was able to use all of his massive frame to absorb contact and keep going.
Team USA needs the old Matthews to help secure gold
It's a sign that perhaps Matthews has built up a bit more durability as of late and the fact he was able to recollect himself and then go out and score -- it's a great sign going forward.
He needs a strong tournament overall not only to build his confidence heading back into the NHL schedule but also do himself right by changing how people perceive him.
If the Americans are expecting to have a chance at gold then they are going to need to have a fully healthy and dominant Matthews in order to do it and as long as he keeps up his performance like he did Thursday; they're in good hands.
Matthews will get another chance to secure a victory when the Americans take on Denmark in a Valentine's Day showdown.
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