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Jason Newland
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Updated at Feb 20, 2026, 22:42
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Columbus Blue Jackets and United States defenseman Zach Werenski played a massive role in beating Slovakia 6-2 on Friday night in Milan to move on to the Gold Medal Game on Sunday. The game will pit the U.S. against Canada in the winner-take-all game at 8:10 a.m. Eastern. 

Werenski had three primary assists through the first two periods, becoming the first Columbus Blue Jacket player to have three points in an Olympic hockey game. He also tied Rick Nash by getting his 5th total point in a single Olympic tournament by a Blue Jacket. He'll have one more game to pass Nash. 

He finished the game with three assists and had a plus-3 rating. His 3 points led Team USA, and his plus-3 tied Jack Hughes and Brock Faber. 

Werenski completed a really nice pass to Dylan Larkin to kick off the scoring for the U.S., who was streaking up the middle of the ice, beating Slovakian goaltender Samuel Hlavaj. Hlavah currently plays for the AHL's Iowa Wild. 

Next Up For Zach Werenski - February 22 - Gold Medal Game vs. Canada - 8:10 a.m. Eastern.

Next Up For Columbus- The Columbus Blue Jackets will play the Boston Bruins on February 26th at 7 p.m.

Stay with THN - Columbus for all of the Zach Werenski and Elvis Merzļikins Olympic coverage. 

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