Slovakia pulls off upset, Sweden survives in first day of Olympic tournament

The men’s hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics got underway today with the first two games of the preliminary round. Unlike in other international tournaments, all 12 teams will advance into the elimination rounds, so losing early doesn’t put your tournament in jeopardy.

Before the tournament started, I put together everything you need to know about the Olympics:

Blackhawks fans' guide to the men's Olympic hockey tournament
Olympic hockey vs. NHL rules: How overtime, shootouts and fighting differ
Olympic hockey seeding and group play, explained
How NHL participation has shaped Olympic men’s hockey medal results

Slovakia Slafs Finland Around

The first game of the tournament provided the first upset as Slovakia beat the defending gold medalists, Finland, 4-1. Finland dominated the first period, outshooting the Slovaks 18-5, but was down 1-0 after 20 minutes. Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky scored the first goal of the tournament after jumping on a turnover by Mikko Lehtonen, then showing off his silky hands to move the puck around Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros. Slovakian netminder Samuel Hlavaj, who plays for the AHL’s Iowa Wild, stopped all 18 Finnish shots in the opening frame.

Saros’ Predators teammate, Eeli Tolvanen, tied the game early in the second period, moments after a power play expired. Slovakia scored three times in the final frame to pull away. Dalibor Dvorsky of the St. Louis Blues scored the game-winning goal early in the third period. Three minutes later, Slafkovsky’s second goal of the game gave Slovakia some insurance. Former Calgary Flames forward Adam Ruzicka iced the game with a late empty-net goal.

Slovakia has just seven current NHL players on its roster, while all but one Finnish player, Lehtonen, plays in the NHL. After the lopsided opening period, play evened out a bit, with Finland holding a 22-20 shot advantage.

Teuvo Teravainen had three shots on goal in his Olympic opener. He’s had three or more shots on goal in just four of his 50 games for the Chicago Blackhawks this season. Goaltending prospect Adam Gajan did not dress. He’s the third netminder for Slovakia, and with the way Hlavaj played, he will likely not see much action in Milan.

Sweden Survives Scare by Italy

The second of two games today was a real David and Goliath matchup. Sweden took the ice with their roster full of NHL All-Stars and five Stanley Cup winners. Meanwhile, Italy’s roster has played as many NHL games as I have, zero! They were added to the tournament as the host country and would likely not have qualified otherwise.

But the games are played on the ice and not on paper. The Italians had no business being in this game, but they hung around and kept frustrating the heavily favored Swedes. Luca Frigo put Italy up 1-0 early in the game when Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson dropped his stick. Sweden responded with goals from Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog and Florida Panthers blueliner Gustav Forsling.

Matt Bradley tied the game in the opening minute of the second period. Bradley was a fifth-round pick of the Canadiens in 2015 and played 201 games in the ECHL and six in the AHL before heading to Europe in 2022. At this point of the game, Sweden held a 28-4 advantage in shots on goal, but the game was even at 2-2.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ star William Nylander scored the game-winning goal late in the middle frame. Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman scored in the third period to give the Swedes some breathing room.

While the game was close on the scoreboard for much of the evening, Sweden dominated the game. They outshot the Italians 60-22, went 1-for-1 on the power play, and won 62.5% of the faceoffs. It was rather concerning to see how easily Sweden got frustrated when the game was close. They will need to reel that in a bit as they move along in the tournament.

Group B will return to action on Friday, with Sweden taking on Finland and Slovakia squaring off with Italy. The puck drops on both games at 5:10 am CT.

Three Stars of the Day

Third Star – Damian Clara, G (Italy)

The only way Italy was going to pull off a huge upset today was with a little luck and some tremendous goaltending. They got both of those, but still fell short in front of the home crowd. Clara was spectacular, making 46 saves before leaving with an injury six minutes into the third period. He hurt his right leg stretching out to deny Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson on a shorthanded breakaway. Clara was a second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2023 and currently plays for Brynas IF in the Swedish Hockey League.

Second Star – Juraj Slafkovsky, F (Slovakia)

There is no doubt that the former first overall pick loves playing on the international stage. In 2022, he had three goals and nine points in eight games at the World Junior Championship. A few weeks later, he was starring on Slovakia’s Olympic team. With his two goals and an assist today, he has nine goals and 10 points in eight Olympic games. If Slovakia is going to make a run at a medal, it will be on Slafkovsky’s back.

First Star – Samuel Hlavaj, G (Slovakia)

The beauty of the Olympics lies in the underdog stories. The men’s tournament has a chance to provide us with some Cinderella stories, and Hlavaj is one of those. The 24-year-old netminder has struggled in the AHL this season. In 18 games with Iowa, he has only five wins with a 3.33 goals-against average (GAA) and .884 save percentage (SV%). In his lone start against the offense-challenged Rockford IceHogs, he allowed six goals. But against a team full of NHL stars, he allowed one goal on 40 shots. Hockey is the best!

Tomorrow’s Schedule

Switzerland v France (5:10 am CT)
Czechia v Canada (9:40 am CT)
Latvia v United States (2:10 pm CT)
Germany v Denmark (2:10 pm CT)