2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Everything you need to know from Feb. 14
The round-robin is nearly complete at the 2026 men’s Olympic hockey tournament, and Saturday was definitely spicy.
The playoff rounds will be determined on Sunday evening in Milano, with two quarterfinal spots up for grabs. Canada and Slovakia have already moved on, while USA holds the top spot in Group C.
Saturday was a wild one, so catch up on everything you missed:
Sweden 5, Slovakia 3
The mission for Sweden was simple: beat Slovakia and outscore them by three goals, and they’d take over the top spot in Group B.
They’d get one of those – the 5-3 victory. But a last-minute goal from Dalibor Dvorsky meant the Slovaks would do exactly what it took to win Group B in Milano, absolutely smashing the pre-tournament predictions.
Slovakia will get three days off before the quarterfinals, while Sweden will play in the qualification round on Tuesday.
Joel Eriksson Ek got the scoring started at 7:17, only for Juraj Slafkovsky to answer back a minute later. Sweden would regain the lead midway through the second off an Adrian Kempe power-play goal, only for Martin Gernat to make it 2-2.
Slovakia started to slow down after that, and a pair of goals from Elias Pettersson made it a 4-2 game. With Sweden needing another goal, Lucas Raymond scored his first goal and third point of the game at 51:38 to make it 5-2, giving Sweden the magic number it was chasing.
Except that didn’t last. With 39 seconds left, Dalibor Dvorsky – Slovakia’s best player tonight – managed to squeak one past Jacob Markstrom to make it 5-3, and kept the goal differential to a point where they’d win Group B, despite the loss.
Slovakia
#31 Samuel Hlavaj, G (Minnesota Wild): Hlavaj wasn’t as spectacular as he was against the Finns. But Slovakia’s blueline seemingly left him out to dry down the stretch and forced him to face over 50 shots. The Swedes clearly played with more pace and skill and Hlavaj kept turning away quality chances. Not-so-hot-take: Hlavaj’s two performances in this tournament have hidden some of Slovakia’s deficiencies.
#28 Martin Gernat, D: Gernat has been very productive in the KHL the past few years, and he has been great at this tournament, as well. He had two points heading into this one and had another two to continue thriving as Slovakia’s top blueliner. Even compared to some of the NHLers he’s surrounded by, Gernat has been the most noticeable through three games.
#15 Dalibor Dvorsky, C (St. Louis Blues): Slovakia ran out of steam in this one, but Dvorsky didn’t. He had six shots, and many were high-quality opportunities from the slot. None was more important than his final one, where he scored the goal that helped the Slovaks secure the top spot in Group B. He might be young at 20 years old, but it already feels like he’s a leader in this group, especially with a lack of NHL talent.
#20 Juraj Slafkovský, RW (Montreal Canadiens): Note to self: just put Slaf’s name here by default every day. He’s clearly Slovakia’s No. 1 goaltender and has continuously been the team’s most lethal scoring threat. Slafkovský now has 10 career goals in 10 games at the Olympics, helping establish himself as one of the best in recent memory. He’s so confident, and it’s clear he can lead the play when the opportunity arises.
Sweden
#3 Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D (Toronto Maple Leafs): Ekman-Larsson hasn’t played much in this tournament, and even sat the entire first game. But it felt like every time he hit the ice, he made it a mission to hit someone. The offensive defenseman was a pain in the rear end for the Slovaks whenever they crossed over the center line, and it felt like OEL was as energized as we’ve seen him at any point in 2025-26. He’s clearly motivated to prove to the coaching staff that he deserves more ice time.
#26 Rasmus Dahlin, D (Buffalo Sabres): If I were voting right now on the top defenseman award, I’d go with Dahlin. He just makes so many smart plays all game long, and assisted on the go-ahead 2-1 goal. No matter the opponent, they seem to struggle blasting past him on the rush, and he has the hockey sense and patience to make the right plays more often than not with the puck.
#14 Joel Eriksson Ek, C (Minnesota Wild): JEEK scored Sweden’s first goal of the game at 7:17 and then continued to fire shots on net the rest of the game. He has been really good around the net, creating havoc and taking space away from goaltenders. His two-way game has been solid, as well, with Eriksson Ek playing some strong defensive hockey the entire way.
#19 Adrian Kempe, LW (Los Angeles Kings): Kempe had a goal and an assist in this one as he tried to carry the Swedes in the first half. He’s great on the power play because he wastes no time getting shots off. Kempe is also strong enough to continue pushing the puck forward and into a scoring situation, even if he’s outnumbered. Kempe was just fine in the two previous games, but he was excellent today.
#23 Lucas Raymond, RW (Detroit Red Wings): With a highlight-reel goal, two assists and six shots, Raymond couldn’t get stopped today. I thought he was good against Finland, but this was the breakthrough game Swedish fans were hoping for. The Swedes continued to rely on him down the stretch in this one and he was excellent. The late penalty that cost Sweden the Group B victory will sting, though.
#40 Elias Pettersson, C (Vancouver Canucks): Pettersson has been one of Sweden’s most criticized players in Milano, and he made things interesting with a two-goal game. The Swedes were struggling to generate much of substance in the first half, but Pettersson’s shot and speed seemed to come through in this one. That had to be great for his confidence in what has been a trying season again for the Canucks forward.
Latvia 4, Germany 3
Latvia has won its first men’s Olympic hockey game since 2014, beating Germany 4-3 after trailing at multiple points.
Germany will close out the round-robin against the United States on Sunday, while Latvia will take on Denmark.
The Germans needed 23 seconds to score on Thursday, and it took them 2:06 to break the deadlock on Saturday. Lukas Reichel would score the first of two first-period goals, with Lukas Kalble tallying the other with about three minutes to go. But Dans Locmelis would answer back both times, scoring once in the first and again in the second to make it a 2-2 hockey game.
Latvia lost its opening game and didn’t want this one to get away from them, either. Third-period goals from Eduards Tralmaks and Renars Krastenbergs put the pressure back on the Germans, who needed their biggest stars to finally break through again. Tim Stutzle would make that happen with about two minutes to go, with his shot hitting a Latvian defender in front to make it 4-3. Unfortunately for Germany, it wasn’t enough as Latvia managed to pull off the comeback victory to spice up Group C.
Germany
#49 Lukas Kalble, D: The two-time ECHL champion built a reputation for being one of Germany’s smartest offensive defensemen at the past two World Championships. So it wasn’t too surprising that he had two points in the first period of this game. Without that, the Germans would have been in a tough spot because Latvia started to outwork their opponents in the second half of this game. This felt like a significantly more impactful performance than his effort against the Danes.
#18 Tim Stutzle, C (Ottawa Senators): Germany needed someone to score desperately in the end and he made it happen. It felt like once the Germans realized this wasn’t going their way, that’s when Stutzle played his best hockey. He scored to make it 4-3, and then had a couple of other really close looks in the final minutes. Draisaitl was definitely better than him today, but Stutzle still played well, overall.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, C (Edmonton Oilers): As expected, Draisaitl was Germany’s top shot generator, creating quality chances from all over the ice. There came a point where he started cheating on plays, using his speed and size to his advantage. He didn’t score but the puck was in the offensive zone significantly more than the alternative when he was on the ice. How good? He has 10 shots, to be exact.
Latvia
#3 Alberts Smits, D (2026 NHL Draft): I liked Smits’ first game, but this was even better. It felt like he was more in control and handled the pace a bit better against Germany than against the United States. His confidence was fully visible, too – it felt like I was watching him back in the Liiga prior to the World Juniors, where nothing seemed to faze him. Playing against men all the time in Finland is one thing, but going up against elite NHL talent is another and I feel like the 18-year-old has handled the pressure well.
#9 Renars Krastenbergs, LW: I’m a Krastenbergs fan. I liked him in the OHL and I thought he was good against the United States. He scored a goal and an assist today, with his third-period marker putting the game out of reach for Germany. Krastenbergs is quick, has some skill and loves to shoot, and that was all on display today.
#11 Dans Locmelis, C (Boston Bruins): With two power-play goals, Locmelis was Latvia’s most important player today. That wasn’t entirely surprising – the AHL standout was so good for Latvia at the 2025 World Championship and has carried that momentum into his first pro hockey season. Locmelis is a confident shooter who sees the ice really well, and isn’t afraid of getting a puck on net at any cost. Today, it paid off.
#22 Sandis Vilmanis, LW (Florida Panthers): Vilmanis hasn’t made many friends the past few weeks. But his no-nonsense, all-motor playstyle has opened up opportunities for his linemates throughout the tournament. He didn’t score today, but he had two assists and what felt like a boatload of assists. He has never been a key contributor at the men’s national team level, but Vilmanis is playing with tons of confidence after earning a promotion to the NHL earlier this season.
Finland 11, Italy 0
Finland has closed Group B action with a commanding 11-0 win over Italy, a game that was never close to begin with.
With the win, Finland will finish second in the group. Slovakia will take top spot, while Sweden will finish third, with all three teams boasting a 2-1 record. Italy, meanwhile, finished the round-robin with a 0-3 record.
The game was a blowout from the get-go. Sebastian Aho, Mikael Granlund and Kaapo Kakko scored in the first period, with the shots being 13-2 by then.
Granund and Kakko would both score a second goal in the middle stanza, while Joel Kiviranta would tally his first of the tournament to make it a 6-0 game, with Italy registering just six shots after two periods.
Italy would swap out Damian Clara – the star against Sweden – for Davide Fadani to finish the game out in net. It was a rough go for Fadani, who allowed three goals on four shots to the likes of Aho, Artturi Lehkonen and Miro Heiskanen. History was made later on, with Joel Armia scoring the 10th goal of the night, marking the first time in the NHL player era that a team has scored double digits in a men’s Olympic hockey game. Kiviranta would score his second of the game to cap off the night in the most lopsided game of the Olympics by a country mile.
Finland
#77 Niko Mikkola, D (Florida Panthers): The 6-foot-6 defenseman is hard to miss out there. He’s not a flashy offensive threat, but he had an assist against Sweden and had another two today. He’s a rock-steady defender who has been allowed to stretch his wings in more offensive situations at this tournament; especially today, once the game got out of hand.
#20 Sebastian Aho, C (Carolina Hurricanes): Think Aho wanted to score badly? He put one in during the first period and then took another six shots after that, including one that made it 9-0. He was buzzing all over the ice, showing good chemistry alongside Artturi Lehkonen and Teuvo Teravainen. He’s slick, smart and has quick hands, and made sure to use it all tonight. He seemed to have a fun time out there.
#40 Joel Armia, C (Los Angeles Kings): You won’t find many better fourth-line centers at this event. He shoots, he defends, he battles hard, and he keeps his opponents on their toes. And he scored. You put that altogether and it’s easy to tell why the puck doesn’t last in the defensive zone often. It also felt like he generally spent much more time on the attack today than usual. That’s three solid outings from the speedy forward with a big frame.
#64 Mikael Granlund, C (Anaheim Ducks): Granlund always excels for Finland internationally, but he only had three shots and an assist to show for heading into today. So, Granlund made himself known by scoring two goals and taking six shots in the first two periods alone despite playing third-line minutes. He’s a wizard with the puck, and he seemed very comfortable back at center with Anton Lundell out.
#84 Kaapo Kakko, RW (Seattle Kraken): Is a two-goal, three-point night good? Kakko had an excellent game, making an impact physically and offensively nearly every time he reached the Italian net. He plays his best hockey when he can focus on getting pucks on net and he was the most impactful in that regard.
#96 Mikko Rantanen, RW: (Dallas Stars): Rantanen was everywhere physically in the bout against Sweden. Today, he was all over the scoresheet instead with a pair of assists. His ability to dominate shifts physically proved to be too much for the smaller Italian defenders. That was his best game of the tournament from a two-way perspective.
Italy
#53 Alex Trivellato, D: There weren’t many reasons for the Italians to celebrate. But Trivellato played the heaviest minutes against Finland’s top players and was only on the ice for one goal against. So, not bad, I guess.
USA 6, Denmark 3
Given USA’s dominance against Latvia, it was easy to assume that they’d roll over Denmark. And the Americans won the game 6-3 after all, but it was far from easy.
The United States sits in first place in Group C, with a chance to be the top seed in the tournament. Denmark, meanwhile, will remain at 0-2 heading into their final round-robin game against Latvia.
The Danes got off to a quick lead, with 2025 World Champion hero Nick Olesen poking the puck below Jeremy Swayman and in to make it 1-0. That seemed to startle the Americans a bit, but Matt Boldy calmed the nerves at 3:35 to make it 1-1. The two teams traded chances, with the Americans looking like a better team.
That was, of course, until Nicholas B. Jensen took what appeared to be a harmless shot from center ice. Jensen isn’t known for scoring – he has one goal in nine World Championship tournaments. But as the puck crept closer to the American net, it was clear Swayman lost track of it and got his glove up. But, unfortunately for him, the puck was headed for his blocker, and Denmark was able to take a shocking 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Denmark seemed to scare the Americans, who took a while to get things rolling in the second. At 29:26, Brady Tkachuk scored just seconds after a faceoff to make it 2-2, only for Jack Eichel to score on an extremely similar play 57 seconds later. A goal from Noah Hanifin at 37:23 gave USA some breathing room, but Phillip Bruggisser would score with three seconds left in the period to make things interesting again.
USA’s second line of Boldy, Jake Guentzel and Auston Matthews struggled, beyond Boldy’s opening period goal. But Guentzel made everything worth it when he took advantage of a tired Danish team to make it 5-3 USA. At that point, the Danes just didn’t have the speed to keep up, and a late goal from Jack Hughes sealed the deal.
Denmark
#41 Jesper Jensen Aabo, D: JJA is used to playing heavy minutes and he was tasked with that again here. Aabo had an assist in 24 minutes of the night against the Germans, getting tasked with stopping guys like Tim Stutzle and Leon Draisaitl. Tonight, he had to deal with all of the USA’s top guns, and he never looked out of place. He’s a good skater who blocks a ton of shots, but he also forces opponents to the outside effectively.
#20 Lars Eller, C (Ottawa Senators): While nobody will mistake Eller for a skilled star, he’s definitely Denmark’s hardest-working forward. He has built an impressive career on being a two-way center who will grind you to death at both ends of the ice. He’s strong defensively, kills penalties, and can fire a shot off quite quickly. Even as an older player, you can tell he has had a huge impact through two games.
#95 Nick Olesen, LW: Olesen was the miracle-maker at the World Championship, and they needed him to step it up against the Americans. So scoring right off the hop was good for his confidence, and then he had a few other looks that just came up short. He’s a skilled forward with quick hands, but he has a nonstop motor and relentless work ethic that allows him to win many of his individual battles.
USA
#8 Zach Werenski, D (Columbus Blue Jackets): I don’t know if there’s a perfect way to quantify it beyond shots, but it feels like the American forwards trust Werenski the most to make a smart move with the puck. He had four shots in the first 40 minutes as USA tried to force their way back into the game. He didn’t score, but he made every effort to get to the net. It feels like Werenski has been USA’s best defender through two games.
#43 Quinn Hughes, D (Minnesota Wild): Hughes is so calm and collected under pressure. He had an assist, but he also broke up a couple of near-rushes from the Danish attack. Hughes is the best skating defender on the blueline, making most of his plays look effortless. They don’t need him to generate a ton of chances because Werenski can make it happen, but Hughes has the elite hockey brain to force opponents into making bad decisions with the puck.
#7 Brady Tkachuk, RW (Ottawa Senators): I’ll group in Matthew here because he looked great as well. The whole line, along with Eichel, did. Tkachuk is a you-know-what disturber and the Danes changed their focus to try and shut him down. That opened up lanes for his linemates, though, which is something he does well in Ottawa. That’s two electric games for a player who wants to shine in the spotlight.
#9 Jack Eichel, C (Vegas Golden Knights): Eichel was an absolute beast there. The faceoff win on the second goal, his own shot on the third… just felt like he was cooking when USA needed him to. His energy and his constant play-driving meant he was almost always creating something in the offensive zone. If Eichel continues to bring the energy and the offense to every shift, the Americans should be fine.
#12 Matt Boldy, LW (Minnesota Wild): Boldy loves making a living around the net, and it was his relentless attack that resulted in the first American goal. He’s not afraid of anyone, and that’s because he’s built strong enough to handle everything opponents throw at him. Boldy has always been electric for the Americans in national team competitions, and he has been the top player on USA’s second line by a country mile.
Standings
Round-Robin Schedule
Sunday, February 15
- 6:10 AM ET — Switzerland vs Czechia (Group A)
- 10:40 AM ET — Canada vs France (Group A)
- 1:10 PM ET — Denmark vs Latvia (Group C)
- 3:10 PM ET — USA vs Germany (Group C)
Playoffs
Tuesday, February 17 (Qualification)
- 6:10 AM ET — TBD
- 6:10 AM ET — TBD
- 10:40 AM ET — TBD
- 3:10 PM ET — TBD
Wednesday, February 18 (Quarterfinals)
- 6:10 AM ET — TBD
- 10:40 AM ET — TBD
- 12:10 PM ET — TBD
- 3:10 PM ET — TBD
Friday, February 20 (Semifinals)
- 10:40 AM ET — TBD
- 3:10 PM ET — TBD
Saturday, February 21 (Bronze Medal Game)
- 2:40 PM ET — TBD
PRESENTED BY DAILY FACEOFF’S OLYMPIC COVERAGE
Catch Every Goal from the 2026 Milan Games! The 2026 Milan Games are almost here, and the world’s best men’s and women’s hockey players are ready to battle for gold! The Nation Network is bringing you every game, every jaw-dropping save, and all the drama with live reaction streams and full recaps. Don’t miss a moment of Olympic hockey action—men’s, women’s, and everything in between—on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel. Subscribe now and stay on top of every play!