2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Everything you need to know from Feb. 11
The first day of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament couldn’t have been much more dramatic.
It all started when Slovakia beat Finland 4-1, pulling off one heck of an upset against a Finnish team with 24 NHLers on the roster. A two-goal night from Juraj Slafkovsky, mixed in with a 38-save performance from AHL goaltender Samuel Hlavaj, helped seal the deal.
Most expected the second game between Sweden and Italy to be a one-sided affair. Shot-wise, it definitely was. But after Italy scored the first goal and then tied it up again in the second, it was much closer than expected. In the end, Sweden avoided a total upset, winning the game 5-2 to start the tournament off on the right foot.
Here’s a look at the top performers from both games on Wednesday:
Slovakia 4, Finland 1
It only took one game in the 2026 men’s Winter Olympic hockey tournament for an upset, with Slovakia – the defending bronze medalists – beating the 2022 Olympic champions, Finland, 4-1 to kick off the event.
Both teams will get Thursday off before returning to action on Friday. The Finns will take on Sweden, while Slovakia will face the hosts, Italy. Both games will take place at 6:10 AM ET.
The Slovaks got off to a hot start, controlling puck possession early. At 7:45, it all paid off after Juraj Slafkovsky – the 2022 Olympic superstar – stole the puck near the boards and outwaited Juuse Saros to make it 1-0.
The Finns struggled in the opening period, but would score on a power-play opportunity early in the second. Eeli Tolvanen – who became a star thanks to his tremendous 2018 Olympic tournament – capitalized on the extra space around the net.
Finland continued to pepper Slovak goalie Samuel Hlavaj, who was the story of the game. Finland’s inability to beat him again hurt them, though, as Slafkovsky scored his second of the night and Dalibor Dvorsky registered his first Olympic goal to make it a 3-1 game for the Slovaks. The Finns pulled their goalie late to try and score, but Adam Ruzicka made it work on a wild scramble in front to make it 4-1 to secure the upset victory.
Here’s a look at the top standouts from Wednesday:
Finland
#41 Miro Heiskanen, D (Dallas Stars): Finland’s blueline is so, so much more dangerous with Heiskanen leading the charge. The Stars star missed out on the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he easily played the most minutes tonight as the Finns continued to rely on him in all situations. Heiskanen is calm, poised, and composed every time he touches the puck, allowing him to control the pace of play. If the Finns go far, don’t be surprised if Heiskanen’s name is in the top defenseman conversation.
#28 Eeli Tolvanen, RW (Seattle Kraken): Tolvanen scored the lone goal for Finland, capitalizing on the power play. But he also had five shots in the first 40 minutes alone, doing everything possible to try and get on the scoresheet. Tolvanen was on Finland’s fourth line, mostly because his game isn’t rounded enough to go higher in the lineup. But there might not be a more important one-shot shooter on this team, so expect the Finns to keep relying on him in scoring situations.
#62 Artturi Lehkonen, LW (Colorado Avalanche): Lehkonen was such a great choice to play on the second line with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Lehkonen had a couple of quality chances, but his ability to fly through the neutral zone and find scoring lanes was unmatched on the Finnish forward group. He’s a true workhorse – someone who will work his tail off to create chances for the rest of his line. Today’s effort was much more impactful than what we saw from him at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Slovakia
#31 Samuel Hlavaj, G (Minnesota Wild): Hlavaj always shows up for Slovakia internationally. He might be a Wild prospect, but he hasn’t been called up to the NHL at any point. His AHL numbers haven’t been good this year, but he’s so quick, has a great glove hand and reads plays exceptionally well. Before you wonder who the heck he is, Hlavaj actually had better numbers than his Iowa Wild teammate, Jesper Wallstedt, throughout most of 2024-25.
#17 Simon Nemec, D (New Jersey Devils): Nemec seems to always take his game up another level when he plays internationally. He was one of Slovakia’s better shot generators, and he did an excellent job of forcing the Finns to the outside. Nemec made some great high-quality passes in the O-zone, and he was also clearly Slovakia’s fastest defender. His NHL career has been a mixed bag, but today felt like a solid performance.
#15 Dalibor Dvorsky, C (St. Louis Blues): Dvorsky was everywhere around the net today and it resulted in the 2-1 goal. He’s strong, smart and equally good as a shooter and a passer. Dvorsky was so dominant for the Slovaks as a junior player, but today’s goal was easily the biggest of his career. He’s going to be the No. 1 center for Slovakia for a long, long time, and it was nice to see him have such an impactful tournament opener.
#20 Juraj Slafkovsky, RW (Montreal Canadiens): After scoring an incredible seven goals at the 2022 Winter Games, Slafkovsky started things off with a great play to make it 1-0 in the first. He then added the 3-1 goal to hand Slovakia the victory, further adding to his incredible Olympic career. You could tell he was clearly the most skilled forward on the Slovak team. He won so many races to the puck, led Slovakia’s attack all night, and used his frame to win battle after battle.
Sweden 5, Italy 2
On paper, there was no reason for Italy to keep things close against Sweden in men’s Olympic hockey action.
But after scoring the first goal of the game, and keeping things tied for about half the night, the hosts proved they could hang around. Sweden ultimately won the game t-2, but it was still a night to remember in Milano.
Luca Frigo would score Italy’s first Olympic goal in 20 years, taking advantage of Filip Gustavsson losing his stick to make it 1-0 Italy. Gabriel Landeskog and Gustav Forsling would score a goal each before the end of the first period, giving Sweden its first lead of the game.
But with 37 seconds off the clock in the second, Matt Bradley – a former NHL prospect – managed to tie things up again. It gave Italy new life, scoring twice on just four shots. Sustained pressure was an issue, though, and William Nylander would ultimately score to make it 3-2 with under four minutes to go in the middle stanza.
The major story, though, was the play of Anaheim Ducks prospect Damian Clara. The 6-foot-6 goaltender made 46 saves before tweaking his right leg in a breakaway save on Elias Pettersson in the third period. That meant Davide Fadani was forced to finish the game for the Italians, and despite a strong effort in net, it wasn’t enough to secure the victory as Mika Zibanejad and Victor Hedman both scored late to make it 5-2.
Here is a look at the top performers from both teams on Wednesday night:
Italy
#20 Damian Clara, G (Anaheim Ducks): As the lone NHL-affiliated player on the Italian national team, the pressure was high. And after 25 saves in the opening period alone, and nearly 50 total, he clearly was up for the task. The 21-year-old used his size and experience handling heavy workloads, both in the Swedish league and internationally, to stay calm under pressure. Without Clara’s huge performance, this was going to be an absolute bloodbath.
#13 Matt Bradley, C: The former Montreal Canadiens prospect is one of the newest players on the Italian scene, only getting his citizenship to represent the team this season. The speedy forward was clearly the smartest Italian forward on the ice, and he scored the 2-2 goal. Italy brought him over in an attempt to get some solid pro experience up front, and he did plenty of play-driving in this one.
#36 Cristiano DiGiacinto, LW: DiGiacinto made it his mission to hit everyone at any cost. It felt like the Swedes noticed that, too – they seemed to panic when they saw DiGiancinto coming in like a truck with no brakes. The former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect isn’t big, but he knows his role and sticks to it, allowing his linemates to create opportunities all over the ice.
#93 Luca Frigo, LW: The Moncalieri, Italy native, took advantage of a total brainfart from Gustavsson in the first period and made him pay. It was a huge moment for Frigo, who was part of the national team when they fell short of qualifying for the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games. Frigo has really come into his own in recent years, proving to be a consistent producer at just about any tournament. His goal today, though, was easily the biggest of his career.
Sweden
#26 Rasmus Dahlin, D (Buffalo Sabres): Dahlin only played in two games at the 2018 Olympics as more of a depth player. This time around, he’s a difference-maker. He had three assists, including on the go-ahead goal late in the second period after some great work to outmuscle two different Italian players. Dahlin is typically very productive whenever he represents the Swedes, and they’ll continue to lean on him as the team’s top blueliner.
#42 Gustav Forsling, D (Florida Panthers): Forsling took a boatload of shots in the second period and it resulted in the 2-1 goal for the men in yellow. The Panthers defender seemed to play his best hockey after the second Italian goal, keeping the pressure alive as he looked to avoid the upset. That was just his first men’s national team goal in a decade, too.
#14 Joel Eriksson Ek, C (Minnesota Wild): Eriksson Ek was one of the few Swedes who seemed to make any headway around the crease. He was excellent in front of the net, which resulted in a whopping seven shots after just 38 minutes. Eriksson Ek is a strong two-way player who may never put up eye-popping numbers, but he creates opportunities for his linemates and is strong defensively. Today, it felt like he was absolutely snakebitten on the scoresheet.
#88 William Nylander, RW (Toronto Maple Leafs): There were questions as to whether Nylander would be healthy and ready to go. But it was clear early on that he was Sweden’s top forward, and he was rewarded with the 1-1 goal to get his team back in it in the first period. Nylander was especially good on the power play, using the extra ice to his advantage. He’s quick, smart and skilled, and that ability to see a loose puck through traffic paid off on the third Swedish goal.
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