MILAN — Slovakia won Group B when Finland defeated host country Italy in regulation at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
In late action on Saturday, Feb. 14, the Americans defeated Denmark 6-3 in Group C action at Milano Santagiulia Hockey Arena. Jeremy Swayman got the start in goal and gave up a couple goals on long shots, but the Americans rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to improve to 2-0.
The Americans are atop their group and will play Germany on Sunday, Feb. 15 in the last game of group play. If the USA prevails, it wins the group and gets a bye into the quarterfinals.
The Americans are one of the deepest teams at the Olympics, with 25 NHL players manning the positions. They’re so deep that New Jersey Devils star forward Jack Hughes has been on what is technically the fourth line. He and Brock Nelson were among the players who picked up points against Latvia, with Nelson scoring twice and Hughes assisting on both goals. Hughes was among six different goal scorers in the win against Denmark.
USA TODAY Sports covered all the hockey action at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Saturday. Here are the results:
The U.S. men’s hockey team, loaded with 25 NHLers, won its second preliminary game, defeating Group C cohort Denmark.
The Danes scored first, led twice in the first period and made it a one-goal game with seconds to spare in the second period. The Americans outshot the Danes 15-4 in the second period, again showing off their depth against an underdog team just like in the game against Latvia.
Brady Tkachuk and Jack Eichel scored off draws midway through the second period to put the U.S. up by a goal. The U.S. moved ahead 4-2 with 2:37 to go when Noah Hanifin scored on a rebound. USA goalie Jeremy Swayman gave up a slap shot from the blue line with 2.6 seconds left in the second period after Vincent Trocheck lost the draw, but Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes scored in the third period.
The Finns outshot host country Italy 62-15 and finished second in Group B. Sebastian Aho, Markus Granlund, Kaapo Kakko and Joel Kiviranta each scored two goals.
“You have to bring our best and I think we brought our battle level and compete up” Finnish defenseman Olli Määttä said. “It was where we’re supposed to be and that’s how our skill got to shine.”
Sweden beat Slovakia, but a late goal from the Slovaks was key to the group standings. The Swedes pulled their goalie because they had to win by 3 goals to win Group B outright. The teams then had to wait for the outcome of Finland-Italy. With Finland’s regulation win vs Italy, Group B finishes: 1) Slovakia 2) Finland 3) Sweden.
So, thanks to a last-minute power play goal by Dalibor Dvorsky, the Slovaks positioned themselves to win Group B based on goal difference in head-to-head play with Sweden and Finland.
“We play a really good game today, maybe one of our best this tournament so far and we win the game,” Sweden’s Lucas Raymond said. “Weird feeling afterwards, but it is what it is. We will see what happens, and we’ll go from there.”
Joel Eriksson Ek put Sweden on the scoreboard at 7:17 of the first period, but Juraj Slafkovsky replied for the Slovaks less than two minutes later. Adrian Kempe and Martin Gernat traded goals in the first half of the second period. Elias Pettersson scored twice for Sweden (in the second and third periods), and Raymond put Tre Kronor up by three goals before Dalibor Dvorsky finished a pass from Slafkovsky in the final minute.
In Group C action, Latvia won its first game after falling to the U.S. in the opener.
Germany led 2-1 after the first period, on goals from Lukas Reichel and Lukas Kalble. Dans Locmelis scored for Latvia in the first and second periods. Eduards Tralmarks and Renars Krastenbergs put Latvia ahead in the third period, and a late goal from Tim Stützle wasn’t enough to save Germany.
All times Eastern and accurate as of Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.
Peacock is streaming every game live.
The 12 teams are divided into three groups. They are:
Teams play one game each against the other three teams in their group. Countries get three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, one for an overtime/shootout loss and zero for a regulation loss.
After the preliminary round is complete, teams are seeded 1 through 12 under the following criteria:
The top four teams (group winners and best second-place team) get a bye to the quarterfinals. Teams 5-12 play in a qualifying round, with the winners going to the quarterfinals.
Playoff qualification games are on Feb. 17, quarterfinals are Feb. 18 and semifinals are Feb. 20.
The bronze medal game is Feb. 21 and the gold medal game is Sunday, Feb. 22.
International Ice Hockey Federation prohibits fighting, and it could lead to an ejection and a suspension.
“Fighting is not part of international ice hockey’s DNA,” the organization states in Rule 46 of the IIHF rulebook.
“Players who willingly, participate in a ‘brawl/fight’ so-called ‘willing combatants,’ shall be penalized accordingly by the referee(s) and may be ejected from the game,” the rulebook says. “Further supplementary discipline may be imposed.”
The NHL will take a break from Feb. 6-24 for the 2026 Winter Olympics. No trades can take place during the Olympic break.
The tournament started Feb. 11 with two games. The USA opened play Feb. 12 against Latvia. All teams will play three games during the round robin, which runs through Feb. 15. The top four teams get byes to the quarterfinals.
Playoff qualification games are on Feb. 17 for teams ranked fifth through 12th, quarterfinals are Feb. 18 and semifinals are Feb. 20.
The bronze medal game is Feb. 21 and the gold medal game is Sunday, Feb. 22.
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