Team USA begins its Men’s Ice Hockey tournament at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics against Team Latvia on Thursday, February 12.
This matchup heavily favors the Americans, and our top USA vs. Latvia predictions and free betting picks highlight three proven Team USA goal scorers to target.
Team USA goal scorer picks for today
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Auston Matthews
Team USA captain Auston Matthews comes into the tournament having scored just once on 31 shots over his last eight games — a 3.2% shooting rate — despite leading the Toronto Maple Leafs with 3.78 expected goals and 18 high-danger scoring chances.
Look for Matthews to snap the scoring funk in the tournament opener against an outmatched Team Latvia.
Tage Thompson
Winger Tage Thompson will be a key addition to Team USA, having scored 188 goals over 360 games in his past five NHL seasons.
Thompson is expected to play a middle-six role and join the No. 2 power-play unit to start the tournament, giving him favorable even-strength matchups against Latvia’s shaky supporting cast.
Matt Boldy
Matt Boldy has already scored a career-high 32 goals for the Minnesota Wild this season, and his 1.71 goals per 60 minutes rank sixth in the NHL.
Boldy's set to start the tournament in a cushy gig alongside Auston Matthews and Jake Guentzel, and I’m anticipating the trio caving in Latvia and piling up oodles of high-danger scoring chances in the tournament opener.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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