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Olympic Men’s Hockey Day 3 Preview: Nordic rivalry takes centre stage, Canada face the Swiss
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Dylan Nazareth
Feb 12, 2026, 22:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 12, 2026, 20:21 EST
The men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics is in full swing in Milan, with another four games set for Friday.
Here’s a preview of all the action to come on the third day of competition (all times listed in MT):

4:10 a.m. – Finland 🇫🇮 vs. Sweden 🇸🇪

Players to watch: Miro Heiskanen (FIN), Sebastian Aho (FIN), William Nylander (SWE), Rasmus Dahlin (SWE)
The day opens with another chapter in the Nordic rivalry between Finland and Sweden. The two teams met last year at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where Finland narrowly emerged victorious, with a 4-3 OT win. What does this year have in store? After a surprising loss to Slovakia, Finland will be looking to bounce back, but Sweden has their own demons to exorcise after a tight match against the Italians.

4:10 a.m. – Italy 🇮🇹 vs. Slovakia 🇸🇰

Players to watch: Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK), Martin Pospisil (SVK), Luca Frigo (ITA), Matthew Bradley (ITA)
The host Italians surprised everybody in their opening match against Sweden. They struck first with a goal from Luca Frigo, and managed to stay within one goal of Sweden through 55 minutes, owing to a second marker from Matthew Bradley.
But they face a tough opponent in Slovakia , who completed their own upset on Wednesday. Powered by two goals and an assist from Juraj Slafkovsky, Slovakia defeated Finland 4-1. Meanwhile, Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil is still searching for his first point this year, but had three shots in Slovakia’s opening match.

8:40 a.m. – France 🇫🇷 vs. Czechia 🇨🇿

Players to watch: David Pastrnak (CZE), Tomas Hertl (CZE), Alexandre Texier (FRA)
Czechia and France were both held off the scoresheet in their first games, and now will need to bounce back as they go head-to-head. Although, Czechia played better against the Canadians than the scoresheet might have shown, keeping up with the juggernaut’s physicality and relentless attack. Now their sharp shooters will look to show they can be dominant too against the French.

1:10 p.m. – Canada 🇨🇦 vs. Switzerland 🇨🇭

Players to watch: Logan Thompson (CAN), Macklin Celebrini (CAN), Timo Meier (SUI)
Team Canada kicked off their tournament with a commanding 5-0 win over Czechia, and they’re right back at it on Friday, set to face off against the Swiss. Jordan Binnington staked his claim as Canada’s starter with a shutout in the opening game, now it’ll likely be Logan Thompson’s turn to show what he can do. Also, keep an eye on Macklin Celebrini after the 19-year-old opened scoring for the Canadians against Czechia, and is sure to be hungry for more.
Switzerland also opened their tournament on Thursday with a win, beating France 4-0, but the Canadians will prove to be much more difficult opponents. Timo Meier had two goals against the French, and will look to keep producing on Friday. In between the pipes, Switzerland has a choice between playing Leonardo Genoni for a second straight after his shutout, or calling on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid to try and shut down the deep Canadian offensive group.
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