Canucks' Kevin Lankinen and Finland lost 4-1 to Slovakia, while Elias Pettersson and Sweden won 5-2 against Italy in their first games of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

MILAN — The Swedes are in trouble. Just two days after needing a third-period rally to beat Italy, Tre Kroner lost convincingly to its archrival Finland on Friday, 4-1, in a performance that ought to raise alarm bells for the 2006 gold medalists.

Slovakia opened the 2026 Winter Olympics with a decisive 4–1 victory over defending champion Finland, powered by two goals from Juraj Slafkovský and a 38-save performance from Samuel Hlavaj.

NHL players are back at the Olympics, and preliminary play opened with two contests in Milan. Here's how Day 1 went.

MILAN (AP) — As top-seeded Team USA practiced a day before its quarterfinal matchup against host Italy, the Canadians were on the nearby main rink reminding everyone it might not be time to count them out of the women’s hockey Olympic tournament just yet.

Lehtonen is not the only player on Team Finland with Olympic experience. Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen was playing for HIFK in Liiga, Finland's top hockey league, and Seattle Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen with Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League, when they were Lehtonen's teammates at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

If Sweden and Finland aren't at the top of Group B at the conclusion of the preliminary round, then the Olympics will have turned upside down.

Slovakia’s men’s national hockey team has featured consistent rosters through the years. The team has featured players such as Miroslav Satan, Peter Bondra, Zigmund Palffy, Marian Gaborik, Zdeno Chara,