When you have guys like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, and Cale Makar all combining on a line of their own it is hard to imagine having anything better, and with a lot of fans already talking about this Canadian team being the best of all time, it is almost impossible to believe it could get any better, but it can.
Canada (no. 1 seed), USA (no. 2), Slovakia (no. 3), and Finland (no. 4) all earned byes to the quarterfinals, where they'll await the winners of Tuesday's play-in games. Canada and the United States were the only two teams to go undefeated in their three preliminary round games. Canada got the number one seed by winning their three games a combined 20-3, just edging out the USA's combined scores of 17-5.
MILAN -- Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Canada are rolling into the knockout round at the Olympics as the best team in the tournament. They may have put the top seed out of the Americans' reach. Crosby and McDavid each had a goal and two assists in a clinical, businesslike 10-2 dismantling of France on Sunday, which included Tom Wilson fighting the player who delivered a forearm to Nathan MacKinnon's face.
The men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games is underway and many fans are hoping to see the exciting feat of scoring three goals in a single game, better known as a hat trick. "I'm curious to see over in Italy for the Olympics, if we'll see a hat trick to begin with, and then second will people throw their hats?" said Ty Di Lello, a hockey historian based in Winnipeg, Canada. The international sporting event will mark the return of National Hockey League players after a 12 year absence.
Since that year's Winter Olympics, the team has seen a slow yet pronounced decline in its overall performance. In the four editions of Olympic hockey following that 2006 tournament, Sweden lost the bronze medal game twice (2010, 2014), finished seventh in 2018 and finished eighth in 2022. That 2022 finish marked the Swedes' worst performance yet in an Olympic women's hockey tournament.
Team USA men's hockey easily handled Latvia in their opening game of the 2026 Winter Olympics, securing a 5-1 victory. The focus now turns to their second round-robin game against Denmark on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. ET. Denmark lost their opener 3-1 to Germany but played better than the scoreline suggests. They outshot the Germans 38-25 but struggled to contain the star power of Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle.
It's a rivalry as old as time itself. More like a 250 year rivalry? Longer? I don't know. Despite winning gold in women's hockey back in the 2018 Winter Olympics, the United States would once again find themselves in Canada's shadow by the end of the 2022 tournament. To make things even more intense, the United States has had the upper hand against Canada in recent years, dominating the recent four-game Rivalry Series with multi-goal wins in all four games.
Thursday marks the second day of the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina. On Wednesday, Slovakia stunned the hockey world by defeating Finland 4-1 in the first game of the tournament. Then, Sweden survived a spirited effort from the host Italians, winning 5-2 after allowing the opening goal in the first period. With four games on the schedule on Thursday, that means eight teams are in action, consisting of all four from Groups A and C.
GROUP PLAY (Feb 11-15): The 12 countries play a round-robin within their respective groups, with three games per team. Teams earn three points for a regulation win, two points for overtime or shootout wins, one point for overtime or shootout losses, and zero points for regulation losses. GROUP A: Canada, Czechia, France. Switzerland GROUP B: Finland, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden GROUP C: Denmark, Germany, Latvia, United States
With some big personalities on the Team USA men's hockey team, many have wondered if the mild-mannered Auston Matthews is the ideal captain for the Americans. But if the US is to have a chance for a gold medal with the way favorite Canada rolled through its group play, they are going to need big contributions from the talented Maple Leaf. Matthews appears to be heating up at the right time.
Entering Saturday's action, Sweden needed to win by three goals or greater to secure the top place in Group B. Slovakia won its previous two games, and held a commanding divisional lead. Dalibor Dvorsky scored for Slovakia with 39 seconds left, to preserve its entry into the quarterfinal. If Finland defeats Italy in regulation, Slovakia will capture Group B. Any other result, and Sweden will win the group.
