Team USA are a semifinal win away from securing a gold medal after their 2-1 overtime thriller against Sweden. It took a lot of effort for Coach Mike Sullivan’s squad to keep hanging on in this game but they all had one man in their minds when do-or-die hockey started to set in. Matthew Tkachuk knew it too. The Florida Panthers star and the rest of the team had full trust on Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes.
Wild star pops off at Milano Cortina
Hughes notably wanted to prove himself at the Olympics. He could not play with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face Off, so the Wild star is making the most of his time in Milano Cortina. His heroics did not go unnoticed too. The whole world saw him find the back of the net to send Sweden home in overtime while also being excellent on all zones in their past games.
Tkachuk had nothing but praise to say about Hughes, via Nicholas Costonika of NHL.com.
“It’s definitely a better team with him. I mean, there’s no question about that. He’s playing big minutes; he’s a threat in the offensive zone every time. Defensively, he’s able to skate pucks and be kind of like that one-man breakout. It’s 40 of some of the best players in the world fighting at both ends of the ice. Not a lot of room both sides. Like, not a lot of heavy chances on either side,” the Panthers and Team USA veteran added.
Hughes is used to being ready despite having long shifts on the ice. With the Wild, he averages a 27:52 time on the ice which leads all skaters in the NHL. This translated well to the Olympics too. He also leads all Team USA skaters with an absurd 27:31 time on the ice, so this came naturally to him.
“You know, that’s what happens when you put two really good teams together. You think that it’s going to be this high-flying offense, but it’s actually quite the opposite. It took one guy to make a play at the end, and that was Quinn,” Tkachuk added.
Hughes knows the feeling of not being able to contribute due to injures. He’s now showing why the Wild and Team USA need him if they want to win either the Stanley Cup or Olympics gold medal. Hopefully, he remains consistent because Slovakia awaits them in the semifinals.
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