2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Top standouts as Sweden eliminates Latvia
After starting the tournament looking a bit discombobulated, Sweden has advanced to the quarterfinal with a 5-1 victory over Latvia.
The Swedes will take on the United States in the final quarterfinal bout on Wednesday at 3:10 PM ET.
Sweden has had some tough periods in this tournament, but the first wasn’t one of them. Goals from Adrian Kempe and Gabriel Landeskog gave the Tre Kronor an early 2-0 advantage, while Filip Forsberg would tally his first early in the second.
But a goal from Eduards Tralmaks put Sweden back on its toes – they couldn’t get complacent the rest of the way. Latvia brought a bit more life to the rest of the second period, knowing they were still in it with the final stanza still left on the board. Despite some decent looks in the third, Latvia couldn’t find a way to beat Jacob Markstrom again, with Mika Zibanejad and William Nylander adding goals to finish off the victory.
Here’s a look at the top performers on Tuesday:
Latvia
#26 Uvis Balinskis, D (Florida Panthers): Balinksis hasn’t been my favorite Latvian defender over the past week – Kristians Rubins has. But I thought this was Balinskis’ best game. The puck spent much more time out of Latvia’s zone than in it with the 29-year-old on the ice. Balinskis played the most minutes of any defender, making smart, efficient passes all game long. He even got in the lane of a few scoring chances against, for good measure.
#28 Zemgus Girgensons, LW (Tampa Bay Lightning): Girgensons has never been a point-producer, and putting him on Latvia’s top line is a reflection of the team’s lack of scoring. But it felt like he was one of the only players who consistently seemed active on the attack. He’s strong, he can grind you down, and he’s smart, but he typically gets too involved offensively. Today was his best game of the tournament, even if Latvia looked flat as a group.
#34 Eduards Tralmaks, LW (Detroit Red Wings): Tralmaks was buzzing around the Swedish net and eventually scored the 1-0 goal. The big forward spent a lot of time transporting the puck through open ice, and was nearly unbeatable on the zone entries. Tralmaks has had a solid tournament overall – nothing too crazy, but he’s usually making space for himself. Today, he was rewarded for his hard work.
Sweden
#25 Jacob Markstrom, G (New Jersey Devils): Markstrom isn’t on here because he did anything remarkable. Instead, it was just the best goaltending effort among Sweden’s four games, helping them gain some stability. Goaltending has been Sweden’s weakest position in Italy, so they needed Markstrom, who has often looked bad in New Jersey this season, to shore things up and shut the door down. Beyond the rebound on the 3-1 Latvia goal, Markstrom was good.
#42 Gustav Forsling, D (Florida Panthers): Forsling has been arguably Sweden’s most consistent player. I have often preferred Dahlin’s upside with the puck, but Forsling has been as flawless as it gets in his zone most shifts. His main job is getting the puck out of danger and he does it quite consistently. His shot is excellent, he is active on the rush and he’ll take your space away when you’re trying to blow by him on the attack.
#65 Erik Karlsson, D (Pittsburgh Penguins): Karlsson had a primary assist on Forsberg’s first goal of the tournament, giving Sweden a nice 3-0 advantage. Karlsson then shut down a Latvian player before helping make the 4-1 goal happen, although he wasn’t given an assist. Still, in a tournament where the veteran blueliner has looked rather ordinary, this felt more like prime Swedish Erik Karlsson.
#23 Lucas Raymond, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Raymond had the primary assist on both of the goals scored by his line. He loves having the puck on his stick because he knows most defenders can’t handle how patient or skilled he can be, depending on the situation. Raymond has gotten better as the tournament has worn on, which is important given how invisible he was early.
#92 Gabriel Landeskog, LW (Colorado Avalanche): Being on this Swedish team meant so much to Landeskog, who, at one point, wasn’t sure if he was going to return to high-level hockey again. With a goal and an assist in this one, this felt like one of Landeskog’s best games since the 2022 Stanley Cup final. He played with speed, strength and moved the puck incredibly well. Landeskog scored early in the tournament, but today’s was his best, by far.
#93 Mika Zibanejad, C (New York Rangers): Zibanejad had a goal and an assist in this one. Go watch the tape – he seemed to be alone in the offensive zone so often. That’s what he does, getting himself into scoring lanes and showing chemistry with just about everyone he plays with. Raymond and Landeskog were the flashier forwards on that Swedish line, but Z kept things glued together.
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