The men’s tournament got underway on Wednesday, with two games that were very different than many expected heading into the day.
Slovakia 4, Finland 1 (Group B)
Juraj Slafkovský didn’t take long to showcase why he is Slovakia’s hero. He had two elite goals and an assist as the Slovaks get the tournament’s first upset in the very first game.
Finland had no answers for the Slovak’s top line when they were on the ice, and Samuel Hlavaj did the rest went they weren’t. Hlavaj made 39 saves in the win.
Slafkovský is quickly becoming the story of these Olympics. He now has nine goals in eight Olympic games. Seven of those were as a 17-year-old, which propelled him to the top overall selection by the Canadiens. Today’s, with two goals, was against NHLers.
If Beijing was Slafkovský’s ascent to top prospect, Milano-Cortina might be his ascent to being mentioned with the top players in the game. It’s only one game, but given the opponent, it says a lot about what he might be able to achieve as the star of this Slovak team.
Oliver Kapanen was a healthy scratch for Finland, and given their issues trying to find scoring, I would be surprised if he doesn’t get a look for the rest of the tournament. The loss isn’t a disaster for Finland, as all 12 teams have a chance to at least play for their spot in the quarterfinals.
Sweden 5, Italy 2 (Group B)
Well the Italians certainly made things interesting!
William Nylander’s second-period goal proved to be the game-winner as the Swedes escaped disaster. Filip Gustavsson made 20 saves on 22 shots. He struggled early, but made some big saves in the third period to keep the Swedes in the lead after allowing two goals on the first four shots.
Damian Clara was incredible, making 46 saves on 49 shots but was forced to leave the game after making a stretched-leg save on Elias Pettersson in the third period. Matt Bradley, who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2015, scored Italy’s second goal. Luca Frigo scored the game’s first goal, giving Italy an early 1-0 lead. Davide Fadani allowed one goal in relief plus an empty-netter late.
Victor Hedman, Mika Zibanejad, Gabriel Landeskog and Gustav Forsling also scored for Sweden. Rasmus Dahlin had three assists.
It was a wake-up call for the Swedes, surely, but one they received without facing the ultimate consequence. Italy will be disappointed with the ultimate result, but put up a fight they should be very proud of.
Up Next
A very busy day awaits on Thursday. The Canadian women play Finland in their postponed preliminary game. There are also four men games. Switzerland plays France and Canada play Czechia in Group A, while Latvia plays the United States and Denmark face Germany in Group C.