American and Detroit Red Wing Dylan Larkin, left, checks Sweden's Rasmus Dahlin in a quarterfinal men's hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday. (AP photo)

MILAN — Three of hockey’s international powerhouses are in the semifinals at the Milan Cortina Olympics after getting a scare at the start of the knockout round.

The United States, Canada and Finland all won in overtime in the quarterfinals to move one victory away from playing for the gold medal. They may turn out to be better for it.

“You have that experience now as a group that you can come through some adversity, and I think it’s good,” Finland’s Sebastian Aho said.

Slovakia is the underdog party-crasher making an improbable run in the tournament but also had little trouble reaching the semis with a dominant victory against Germany.

The U.S. faces Slovakia in today’s semifinals knowing it would be foolish to underestimate anyone at this stage. Canada may be without injured captain Sidney Crosby when it plays Finland.

Canada vs. Finland

With an opening faceoff at 10:40 a.m. EST, Canada is favored to reach the final, with or without Crosby, at the Olympics for a third consecutive time with NHL players involved after winning gold in 2010 and ’14. Getting through Czechia in the quarterfinals was a tougher test than expected and required a tying goal from Nick Suzuki with 3 1/2 minutes left in regulation and another from Mitch Marner in overtime.

Finland trailed by two goals for much of its quarterfinal against Switzerland. Aho finally got the Finns on the board with 6:06 remaining in the third period, Miro Heiskanen tied it with 62 seconds left and Artturi Lehkonen scored in OT to finish the comeback.

US-Slovakia

With a faceoff at 3:10 p.m. EST, the U.S. feels the same way about upstart Slovakia. Emerging Montreal Canadiens star Juraj Slafkovsky is producing at a high level for a second consecutive Olympics after he was the tournament MVP in Beijing in 2022.

“Their big guys and Slafkovsky, in particular, he’s a horse,” said U.S. center Dylan Larkin, a member of the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL. “He’s been that for them. … They’ve been extremely dangerous.”

Quinn and Jack Hughes have been the best U.S. players in Milan, with Connor Hellebuyck also providing the reliable goaltending needed at an event like this.

“He’s just an unreal guy to play in front of because he gives you a chance each and every night,” winger Matthew Tkachuk said.

___

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics