NHL
2026 Olympic
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A late goal might put Slovakia into the Olympic quarterfinals as the winner of Group B in a tiebreaker, even after losing 5-3 to Sweden. RvS.Media / Robert Hradil / Getty Images
MILAN — As the puck crossed the goal line, Dalibor Dvorský jumped into the glass just before his Slovakia teammates mobbed him. The Slovak fans in the stands at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, who had muffled their Swedish counterparts all game, stood and roared. The building was jumping.
Dvorský, a 20-year-old rookie with the St. Louis Blues, called it one of the biggest goals he’s ever scored, coming with 39 seconds left in Slovakia’s final preliminary round-robin game Saturday.
The goal made the score 5-3. For Sweden.
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Because Slovakia had beaten Finland 4-1 earlier in the tournament, however, that goal gave Slovakia the goal differential tiebreak between them, Sweden and Finland atop Group B of the men’s hockey tournament. That was not guaranteed at the time Dvorský scored that goal, but when Finland beat Italy 11-0 in regulation time later Saturday, it allowed Slovakia to claim first place in the group and an automatic bye to the quarterfinals.
In that moment, it was the biggest loss in Slovak hockey history.
“It’s the best loss of my life, probably,” Dvorský said.
The goal came after Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond had given Sweden a 5-2 lead with a spectacular between-the-legs move with a little over eight minutes remaining in regulation, but was called for slashing with 2:38 left in regulation, giving Slovakia a power play.
Slovak coach Vladimír Országh called a timeout, knowing a two-goal loss would be enough, to let his top offensive players gather their thoughts and catch their breath. There was no play drawn up and there was no talk of what to do tactically.
It was just to calm down, relax.
“There was not much talking about it,” Slovakia star Juraj Slafkovský said.
At one point in the power play, Slafkovský had tried a pass from the side boards that zipped through the crease, a pass that Dvorský was unable to handle as the puck rimmed out of the zone. On the ensuing zone entry, a clearly frustrated Slafkovský tried to break down the Swedish penalty kill all by himself, and the puck went right back down to the Slovak end.
But when it counted, Slafkovský got the puck to the net through a maze of bodies, and once it had stopped bouncing, it landed right in front of Dvorský at the side of the net, allowing him to put it in and set off the party in the rink.
“I didn’t know where the puck was and all of a sudden I see him celebrating,” Slafkovský said. “Then I just started jumping, which is crazy.
“We were still down two goals.”
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Slafkovský’s assist on Dvorský followed up his third goal of the tournament in the first period, giving the Montreal Canadiens forward six points in three games, tied with Canada’s Connor McDavid for the tournament scoring lead, though McDavid has played one fewer game.
Slafkovský rolled his eyes when told he was sitting atop the tournament leaderboard with the best player in the world.
“Yeah, I’m lucky to be there,” he said, “and he deserves it.”
That might be true, but Slafkovský is Slovakia’s offensive engine, and the biggest reason why Dvorský’s goal mattered.
Slovakia has six NHL players on the roster, and only five were in uniform against Sweden. They are a passionate hockey nation, but perpetually an international hockey underdog, something the entire country hopes Slafkovský might change.
“I think it’s really important to be as one team, especially for a team like us,” Slovakia defenseman Martin Fehérváry said. “We don’t have as big names like Sweden or like Canada, right?
“But we got Slaf-goal-sky.”
When the final buzzer sounded, when Slovakia had survived Sweden pulling the goalie for an extra attacker to try to re-establish that three-goal lead, Slafkovský was screaming, smiling, taking in the atmosphere in the building, his fellow Slovaks in the stands celebrating, and Slafkovský joining them.
“What a game,” Slafkovský said. “I’ve never celebrated a loss. Everything has a first time.”
If Slafkovský and Slovakia are able to keep this up, there may be more firsts in their near future.
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Arpon Basu has been the editor-in-chief of The Athletic Montréal since 2017. Previously, he worked for the NHL for six years as managing editor of LNH.com and a contributing writer on NHL.com. Follow Arpon on Twitter @ArponBasu
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