The Athletic has live coverage of Canada vs Czechia in the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey quarterfinal.
MILAN — The quarterfinals at the Olympic men’s hockey tournament are set following Tuesday’s qualifying-round action. Here’s a look at all four of Wednesday’s matchups.
No. 7 Sweden vs. No. 2 USA
There’s no shame in silver. But for the world’s greatest hockey players, particularly those from one of the world’s greatest hockey countries, there’s not exactly a ton of pride in it, either.
“I’ve got a silver medal at home,” Sweden’s Gabriel Landeskog said. “And I guess it’s something that sits there. Doesn’t mean as much as if it would have been a gold medal. If it’s a gold medal, it’s very different. We all want to win; that’s what we were kind of bred to do.”
Sweden’s road to gold starts in earnest Wednesday night against the United States, a gold-medal-level matchup that’s happening in the quarterfinals thanks to Slovakia’s surprising Group B victory. After three round-robin games and Tuesday’s perfunctory 5-1 rout of Latvia, the real do-or-die games start now. And while Canada and the United States — the other two gold-medal favorites — cruised into the quarters with three easy wins and a bye, Team Sweden has scuffled and shuffled its way here.
And they might be better off for it.
“You can cruise through it and then all of a sudden you’re tested in a way you weren’t prepared for,” Sweden coach Sam Hallam said. “It gives you a better feeling now that we’ve had these small things go wrong every game and had to look at things, adjust small things.”
It’s something Landeskog is getting a taste of with the Colorado Avalanche this season. After one of the best starts in NHL history — 31-2-7 — the Avs have lost nine of their last 15 games. Hardly a crisis, but potentially beneficial in the long run.
“That’s the same as over there, same as in the NHL,” Landeskog said. “You’re going to run into adversity at some point, and how you manage that is how you’re going to define yourself as a group, and how you handle that is up to us in the locker room. We’ve stumbled in the tournament so far. We’ve also shown some really good things, so for us, it’s just a matter of continuing to build, understanding that hopefully we’ve got another week to go here and understanding that we need to be playing our best hockey at the most important time, which is right now.”
The U.S., meanwhile, caught something of a bad break by virtue of Slovakia’s group win. Instead of facing a second-tier team, the second-seeded Americans get a seventh-seeded Swedish team full of NHL stars.
“(Wednesday) could be our last day,” U.S. defenseman Quinn Hughes said. “So we’ve got to be prepared. Playing a really good team.”
Based on Tuesday’s practice, U.S. coach Mike Sullivan seems to have locked his lines in place, with Jack Eichel centering Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, Auston Matthews centering Jake Guentzel and Matt Boldy, and Dylan Larkin centering Clayton Keller and Tage Thompson. Keller replaced Kyle Connor in the last group-stage game, as the Winnipeg Jets star finds himself a healthy scratch on the international stage for the second time in 12 months, following last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Americans certainly have an edge in goal. Connor Hellebuyck is sharp and rested, while Hallam will have to either go with Jacob Markström for the second time in 21 hours or with Filip Gustavsson (who was a little shaky against Italy and Finland) or 23-year-old Jesper Wallstedt (who has yet to play in this tournament).
The U.S. hasn’t yet been at its best — at least, what should be its best given the talent on the roster — in this tournament. The Americans’ game has been a little inconsistent, a little scruffy. But they feel they’re getting closer to their ceiling. No time like the present to find it.
“I think we’re just continuing to find our game,” said Jack Hughes, on the fourth line with Brock Nelson and J.T. Miller. “Getting more comfortable with each other, more comfortable with the systems. Obviously now it’s the quarters, so you’ve got to really lock in. But it’s such a short tournament. You’ve got to find your game early. Play each game with the same intensity and play hard.”
Added Dylan Larkin: “It’s nerve-wracking. It is. It gets you going, and I think that’s what brings out the best in guys. I’m excited for it. Every play, every puck’s going to matter.”
After the Swedes’ win over Latvia, their attention turned immediately to the Americans. The last time these two teams met, at the 4 Nations, Sweden eked out a 2-1 victory.
“We’ve got to stay out of the box,” said Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman, who noted that “selfishly” he was glad to get an extra game in as he works his way back to midseason form after missing nearly two months with an injury. “They’ve got a phenomenal power play, a lot of weapons on it. It hasn’t been too long since we played them in 4 Nations, but obviously some different personnel, Quinn Hughes is back. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re physical on their skill, try to stay out of the box, and play a patient game.”
No. 8 Czech Republic vs. No. 1 Canada
It is a rematch of the Olympic opener for both teams after Team Canada trounced the Czech Republic 5-0 last Thursday.
“I think last time we actually had a decent start against Canada, we had some chances, we know what we need to do, we have to play simple, put (pucks) behind, get a good forecheck, get to the net and find a way to score at least some goals,’’ Czech center Tomáš Hertl said after his team’s 3-2 win Tuesday over Denmark in the qualifying playoffs. “We can’t be scared. If we wait and wait, we know what they can do. They have the best player on the planet on the team. They can destroy you.
“You have to just play with confidence,” continued the Vegas Golden Knights center. “We can’t think about who is on the ice, because all four lines are good for them. You have to enjoy it and play hard. It’s one game, you know? You never know what can happen. We can get some bounces, we can score early, and it can go our way.”
But Hertl stressed again that what the Czechs can’t do is just sit back.
Besides, Hertl joked, it’s all part of their plan right now, playing Canada twice in six days.
“That was our plan because we said we probably can’t beat Canada in the same tournament twice,” he said, smiling. “We gave them the first win so now it’s our time!”
Veteran defenseman Radko Gudas said staying out of the penalty box against the No. 1-ranked power play in the tournament (44 percent) is paramount.
“They have some unbelievable players on their power play,” Gudas said. “Then putting pucks in areas where we can get it back, make sure that we make them turn every time. It’s going to be a great challenge for us. It’s going to be fun.
“Anyone who can’t get motivated for that game tomorrow, there’s something seriously wrong with them. They shouldn’t be playing hockey. So it’s going to be a great challenge for us but we’re looking forward to it. If we want to get a medal, we have to beat the best teams.”
The Czechs were a little too cautious and looked nervous early on in their win over Denmark on Tuesday. It wasn’t a very convincing performance. They’ll need a much better effort Wednesday.
Canadian captain Sidney Crosby was asked Tuesday after practice what significance, if any, there would be to play the Czechs again for the second time in six days.
“Maybe a bit more familiar,’’ Crosby said. “But at this point, you’ve got to go out there and play the game and execute. So regardless of how many times you played each other, I think you still got to go out there and do it.”
Added Bo Horvat: “I obviously expect them to play us hard again. They played us hard the first game. You know, they’ve continued to keep getting better throughout the tournament, and we got to be ready to go, for sure.”
The Czechs did try to set a noticeable physical tempo in the opener, but it didn’t produce the desired results. Canada didn’t back down on the physical stuff.
“I thought we matched that really well,” Horvat said. “We try to match anybody that we play. They came out hard and they came out strong and I thought we matched that really well. So we expect them to come out harder. Playing us hard again. So we’ve got to match that again.”
Team Canada veteran Brad Marchand could be back in the lineup Wednesday and may get another crack at facing former Bruins teammate David Pastrňák, with whom he says he’s remained close.
“I love Pasta,” said Marchand. “… I’ve loved where his game has gotten. He’s such a competitor. He was always a great player, but he was streaky early on. He’d get really hot and then really cold. He works extremely hard at his game and he’s become one of the top-five players in the game. He’s incredible, the way he controls the play every time he’s on the ice. His consistency level is at the top of the league. It’s really incredible what he’s done. And it doesn’t matter who he’s playing with. You could put him with the top guys on the team or some younger guys who are just learning the game and he’s going to affect the game the same way. He’s a very, very impressive player.”
Pastrňák had an assist in Sunday’s game but overall, still not the kind of play expected from a star of his caliber.
“Honestly, I haven’t played my best here yet, so just waiting, and hopefully I saved it for tomorrow,’’ Pastrňák said after the game Tuesday.
Martin Nečas of the Colorado Avalanche scored again Sunday on a blistering slap shot to the top corner. He’s been carrying the Czechs so far.
“His ability of skating and escaping in the tight spaces, he’s an incredible skater and he’s becoming a star year by year,’’ Pastrňák said of Necas.” Every year he’s getting better. It’s fun to see. Really happy for him, and glad I can help him out, and he knows I’m here for him. He’s fun to watch.”
No. 5 Switzerland vs. No. 4 Finland
This has upset potential, although Finland has rebounded strongly ever since opening the Olympics with a 4-1 loss to Slovakia, beating rival Sweden 4-1 and smoking Italy 11-0.
“Amazing team and amazing players,’’ Swiss captain Roman Josi said after the game Tuesday of Finland. “Every time the Finns play a tournament, whether it’s world championships or Olympics, they are always one of the favorites. They play really good as a team, so we will have to be at our best.”
Still, the Swiss are back-to-back silver medalists at the IIHF World Championships and have won three of their four games following Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Italy in the qualifying playoffs.
The Swiss also got a boost against Italy with the return of defenseman Andrea Glauser from a suspected concussion. Though he only played a little under 11 minutes and did not start the game with Josi, his regular partner, the fact that he was in uniform bodes well for his availability against Finland.
The Finns would be wise to stay out of the box; Switzerland has the third-ranked power play in the tournament at 31 percent after scoring two more with the man advantage Tuesday. The Swiss also have the second-ranked penalty kill (92 percent) in the tournament.
But, as Josi noted, Finland is always a medal threat — the country has failed to medal at only one of the five Olympics that included NHL players — and this year is no different.
Finland is always defined by team play and defense; the Finns have allowed two five-on-five goals at these Olympics.
“(The) win against Sweden showed for ourselves how we have to play to be able to win. It’s going to be like that in the next round,” Finland captain Mikael Granlund said after the win against Italy. “It’s going to be a highly skilled game where we have to be at our best all the time. (We’re) a really experienced group. We know what we need to do to be able to win games. That’s what we have to focus on.”
Slovakia’s Juraj Slafkovský has 10 goals in 10 Olympic Games since 2022. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
No. 6 Germany vs. No. 3 Slovakia
Just 21 hours after beating France to advance to the quarterfinals, Germany will be playing Slovakia in a win-or-go-home game. It’ll be Germany’s third game in four days, and fifth in seven. Slovakia, meanwhile, will be coming off three straight off days.
Can adrenaline make up the recovery gap for Germany? This is the Olympics, after all.
“It’ll help for sure,” German captain Leon Draisaitl said after an uneventful 5-1 victory over France on Tuesday. “It’s a big game, it’s a do-or-die game, right? So adrenaline will be going. We’ll make sure we’ll be ready to go.”
Thanks to Slovakia’s group win, eighth-ranked Germany won’t have to face any of the traditional powers in the quarterfinal. In fact, with Draisaitl, Tim Stützle, JJ Peterka, Moritz Seider and Philipp Grubauer in net, Germany could be seen as the favorite, despite their unremarkable group-stage performance. (And were Germany to win, and the other favorites prevail, the semifinals would be Canada-Germany and U.S.-Finland, meaning a vastly tougher road to a gold medal for the Americans than the Canadians.) But Slovakia won that group for a reason. Juraj Slafkovský and the Slovaks are rested and riding high. It won’t be easy.
“It’s always a great game against them, always hard,” Germany’s Nico Sturm said. “Especially when we play them, it’s always a battle. I expect a grind from start to finish.”
Neither team was considered a serious contender coming into this tournament, yet one of them will be playing for a medal. And both have good reason to think it’ll be them.
“It’s in your head, but you don’t want to focus on that, you want to focus on the game and just play your best game and then we will see how it ends up,” Slovak defenseman Šimon Nemec said. “We just have to play our best game, just put 100 percent effort and we will see. But yeah, we know we have a big chance to win.”
“We’re one game away from it, so we think about it and prepare the best way we can for (Wednesday),” said forward Dalibor Dvorský. “The people (back home) are really happy. The whole nation is watching. We just love playing good for our country and hopefully we can make our fans even more happy in the next two games here.”
Sturm said Slafkovský is becoming one of the elite goal scorers and playmakers in the NHL. His 10 goals in 10 Olympic Games since 2022 is the stuff of legends. So Germany better rest up.
“It’s important what we do now for the next 20 hours,” Sturm said. “Probably not going to have a ton of beers.”