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.

The qualification playoff round of the men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics took place on Tuesday in Milan, Italy.

Washington Capitals player Martin Fehervary is representing Slovakia at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games. He hopes to win an Olympic medal for his newborn daughter, Anna. Fehervary is focused on the tournament while his girlfriend Natalia cares for their baby in the US.

The quarterfinals for the men's hockey tournament are set after the qualification round on Feb. 17. See who advanced at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

MILAN (AP) — Fans, try to keep up: Sometimes the hockey tournament at the Olympics isn’t just win and move on. Slovakia was all smiles after losing 5-3 to Sweden on Saturday. That is because Dalibor Dvorsky scored with 39 seconds left to make it a two-goal margin instead of three and it also gave Slovakia the tiebreaker it needed to win the group and advance automatically to the quarterfinals.

The Olympic men's hockey preliminary round is over. See where Canada, USA, Slovakia, and other teams stand in the power rankings as playoffs begin.

Men's ice hockey preliminary rounds have concluded and playoff brackets are set at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. See the full schedule here.