2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Top standouts from Czechia vs. Switzerland
After trailing for much of the fight, Switzerland beat Czechia 4-3 in an overtime thriller to finish group play.
The Swiss will move on to the qualification round with two wins after shutting out France earlier on. Czechia will look to rebound on Tuesday after going 1-1-1, with its lone win also coming against France.
Filip Chlapik would get the game going with a goal at 15:19. Czechia’s lead would last until 36:53, when Roman Josi scored after his shot bounced off Radko Gudas and past Lukas Dostal. Less than two minutes later, Timo Meier took a Josi rebound and converted, giving Switzerland its first advantage of the afternoon.
Czechia got desperate, and it eventually paid off with Radim Simek’s goal at 46:33. But Switzerland wasn’t done, and at 48:07, Pius Suter tallied his second of the Olympics to make it 3-2. Czechia thought they tied the game with about three minutes to go, only to get called back due to goalie interference. Czechia kept the pressure on after that, and it paid off as Martin Necas scored to make it 3-3, forcing overtime for the first time all tournament.
It didn’t take long for Dean Kukan to end the game in extra time. The former Columbus Blue Jackets player skated down the ice and beat Dostal with a clean shot at 61:49, giving the win to Switzerland.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Sunday afternoon:
Czechia
#1 Lukas Dostal, G (Anaheim Ducks): Sure, it fell apart in the second half. But Dostal couldn’t do much about the unlucky bounces in this one. Gudas deflected the first goal in, the second was a funky rebound and the third was a scramble in front. Before that, though, Dostal was a difference-maker, helping the Czechs play a more confident game while in front. Dostal should be the starter for Czechia in the playoff round – they like him the most, especially after the 2024 World Championship.
#17 Filip Hronek, D (Vancouver Canucks): Hronek played the most minutes of any Czech player, especially late, as they looked to shut the Swiss down. Hronek is a skilled defender who does a good job of getting the puck down the ice, but he doesn’t give you much room to shoot in the O-zone, either. Hronek has been Czechia’s best defender through three games, as expected.
#14 Filip Chlapik, LW: The former NHL forward scored the ice-breaker late in the first period and then assisted on the tying goal in the third period. Chlapik didn’t play against Canada, but he scored a goal on his lone shot against France and it pushed him into Czechia’s top six for this game. When you’re a depth guy, you have to seize the opportunity, and this was arguably his best national team game to date.
#88 David Pastrnak, RW (Boston Bruins): When the going gets tough, you need your biggest star to show up. That’s exactly what he did in this game, leading the team in shots and then set up the tying goal. His pace, his shot, and his experience made it so that the Swiss were always on the back burner, trying to figure out how to deal with him. He’s good, in case you weren’t aware.
#98 Martin Nečas, RW (Colorado Avalanche): Nečas was Czechia’s best player against France and was again today. He had a pair of assists before scoring the game-tying goal with under three minutes to go. Nečas is a slick passer who doesn’t miss many opportunities to exploit open ice, and he seemed a bit too strong for some of the Swiss defenders to contain around the net.
Switzerland
#63 Leonardo Genoni, G: After a shutout effort against France, Genoni was excellent again today. The Swiss goaltending legend might be one of the older goaltenders in Italy, but he still moves quickly and wastes little movement. The Czechs focused on crashing the net and taking Genoni’s eyesight away but he wasn’t fazed and ultimately shut them down over and over again. He should be the starter the rest of the way.
#86 JJ Moser, D (Tampa Bay Lightning): Moser was excellent in the first 40 minutes and was eventually rewarded with a pair of assists. He fed Josi on the rush for the first Swiss goal and then added another on the go-ahead goal with about 12 minutes left. Defensively, he was a pain in the rear end because the Czechs just couldn’t figure him out.
#90 Roman Josi, D (Nashville Predators): I don’t want to give him too much credit for the 1-1 goal, because it was a fluky bounce that shouldn’t have gone in. But he was everywhere in this game at both ends of the ice, breaking up plays, getting sticks into lanes and controlling the power play. After his goal, he took a shot on net that resulted in a power-play rebound goal from Meier, changing the course of the game. Whenever Switzerland needs something to happen internationally, Josi tends to make it happen.
#13 Nico Hischier, C (New Jersey Devils): With Switzerland missing so many key players, someone needed to pick up the slack and start generating more chances. Today, that was Hischier, who was Switzerland’s most impactful forward in the game. He had plenty of quality chances around the Czech net, only to get stopped by Dostal. It felt like Hischier was playing with a whole other gear compared to the other two games – he was aggressive, making smart plays with the puck and was generating opportunities every time he could.
#28 Timo Meier, RW (New Jersey Devils): Meier had a huge second half, scoring a big goal on a rebound before assisting on the 3-2 marker. Meier was so energetic in this one, buzzing around the net and taking the Czech defenders away from scoring lanes. Meier is a smart forward with quick hands, and that allowed him to capitalize on the loose puck that gave Switzerland all the momentum in the second period.
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