Men's Olympic Ice Hockey
2026 Olympic
Hockey
Advertisement
Canada has begun the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics in dominant form, routing Czechia 5-0 in its opening game.
Macklin Celebrini, Mark Stone, Bo Horvat, Nathan MacKinnon and Nick Suzuki scored for Canada.
The lone negative for the Canadians was that Josh Morrissey left the game early in the second period and did not return.
Share your reaction with us at live@theathletic.com.
The 12 teams in the men's hockey tournament are divided into three groups, with each team playing every team in their group once. Group winners advance directly to the quarterfinals, along with the best second-place finisher. The remaining eight teams compete in a play-in round, with the four winners of those games advancing to the quarterfinals.
There are no ties in Olympic hockey. Non-medal games proceed to a shootout if no team scores during one period of 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime. Wins in regulation are worth three points; wins in overtime are worth two points and losses in overtime are worth one point.
Within their respective groups, teams are ranked by total points. Teams across all groups are then ranked by (in order): group rank, total points, goal difference (goals scored minus goals allowed) and goals scored in group play. Last, if necessary, are International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rankings.
GO FURTHER
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament format is terrible. Here’s how to fix it
One of the biggest changes since NHLers were last on the Olympic stage 12 years ago is how the games will be called.
Without much fanfare, the NHL and IIHF have spent the last five years or so diligently narrowing the gap between rulebooks.
“The last time the NHL players were at the Olympics, the rulebooks of the IIHF and the National Hockey League were significantly different,’’ Scott Zelkin, head of officiating for the IIHF, said in an interview with The Athletic on Tuesday. “Not only standards, how we penalize different fouls, but also just the pure and simple labeling of penalties and what you can call different fouls.
“In the last handful of years, those two rulebooks have come to the point where they are almost identical,’’ added Zelkin, a former NHL referee from 1997 to 2003. “There are a few nuances that are different, and the fans may see some differences, but in general, the rulebooks now are really, really close. So that’s the first thing that in our mind is helping to standardize the officiating really across the world.’’
It’s an IIHF tournament with an IIHF rulebook, but the overall sense is that a blended officiating standard will be on display at this men’s Olympic tournament.
Follow the link below to learn more.
GO FURTHER
As NHL players return to Olympics, blended officiating will be on full display
The 2026 Milan Cortina Games marks the first time NHL players are competing in the Olympics since 2014.
2022 Beijing
2018 Pyeongchang
2014 Sochi
2010 Vancouver
2006 Turin
Russia competed as Olympic Athletes from Russia in 2018 and as Russian Olympic Committee in 2022 due to sanctions related to doping.
There have been 25 editions of men's hockey at the Winter Olympics. Here are the six most successful nations:
Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia have also won medals in men's hockey.
Russia and Czechia's totals includes medals won as predecessor nations.
GO FURTHER
Ranking the greatest men’s Olympic hockey teams from Canada and the USA
NHL players competed at the Olympics for the first time in 12 years yesterday as the men's hockey tournament got underway.
The first result was an absolute stunner, as Slovakia upset Finland 4-1 behind a two-goal performance from Juraj Slafkovsky. The second game's result was more in line with expectations as Sweden beat host nation Italy 5-2, though the Italians scored first before keeping it a one-goal game until the final five minutes.
Follow the link below to learn more about yesterday's action.
GO FURTHER
What we saw on Day 1 of Olympic men’s hockey: Slovakia stuns Finland, Landeskog returns
Today's hockey action kicks off in 10 minutes, as the other two teams in Canada and Czechia's group, Switzerland and France, face off. Today's slate also features the final preliminary game of the women's tournament, the rescheduled game between Canada and Finland.
Later on, Team USA plays its first game in men's hockey, taking on Latvia at 9:10 p.m. CET / 3:10 p.m. ET.
Click on the schedule below to check out the full hockey schedule.
All events have concluded. See full medal count.
Will Canada get off to a strong start today, or can Czechia pull off an upset? Which country will win the gold medal in men's hockey?
We’d love to hear your thoughts, opinions and predictions for the Milan Cortina Games.
Email us at live@theathletic.com, and we'll take the best submissions and feature them in our coverage here!
There is no better place to get the highest quality sports journalism than The Athletic.
Our comprehensive Milan Cortina coverage will continue through the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.
If you are a sports fan who wants insightful, thorough reporting, a subscription to The Athletic is for you. Get one here.
Today's men's hockey game between Canada and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics will air on CBC, Sportsnet One and TSN 1, and stream on CBC Gem, Sportsnet+ and TSN for fans in Canada.
For those in the U.S., the game will will air on USA Network and stream on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Today's men's hockey game between Canada and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. CET local time in Milan. That's 10:40 a.m. ET and 7:40 a.m. PT in North America.
Hello and welcome along to our live coverage of today's Canada vs. Czechia game in men's hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
NHL players are back at the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, so today's game marks the Olympic debut of players like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Stay with us as we build up to today's game!
Hockey News