2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Top standouts from Finland vs. Slovakia
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 having 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.
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!