By Jonathan Zavaleta
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The 2026 Winter Olympics are upon us, and there are some notable changes coming for ice hockey. This will mark the first tournament in over a decade in which NHL players will participate, following previous disputes between the League and the Olympic Committee. This year, the U.S. men’s team will be made up of players from across the NHL.
Team USA will look to make a medal push after the men’s team won at the Ice Hockey World Championships — if they win gold, it’ll be the first time since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” that saw the USA triumph over the Soviet Union.
On the women’s side, Team USA has long been one of the most dominant teams, having medaled at every event since its creation in 1998, including gold in 1998 and 2018. Four-time Olympic medalist Hilary Knight, who currently plays for the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL, will captain Team USA’s Olympic women’s team.
If you’re looking to stream the Olympics, every event will air on Peacock. Select events will air on USA and CNBC, with later rounds airing on NBC. Peacock does not offer a free trial. Plans start at $10.99/mo.
NBCUniversal networks are also available on DirecTV with a five-day free trial. However, not every game will be carried on network television.
Milan is six hours ahead of New York, and many of the preliminary rounds start early in the day. Later rounds air in the early afternoon, Eastern Time.
Women’s hockey begins with preliminaries on Feb. 5, while the men’s preliminaries begin on Feb. 11. You can check out key dates for the men’s and women’s competitions below.
Preliminaries: Feb. 11 – Feb 15
Qualification playoff: Feb. 17
Quarterfinal: Feb. 18
Semifinal: Feb. 20
Bronze medal game: Feb. 21
Gold medal game: Feb. 22
Preliminaries: Feb. 5 – Feb. 10
Quarterfinals: Feb. 13 – Feb. 14
Semifinals: Feb. 16
Bronze medal game: Feb. 19
Gold medal game: Feb. 19
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