FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Olympic Men’s Hockey Day 4 Preview: Hosts face Finland, USA take on Denmark in weekend play
alt
Photo credit: David W Cerny/Reuters via Imagn Images
Dylan Nazareth
Feb 13, 2026, 20:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 13, 2026, 18:13 EST
Men’s hockey preliminary play wraps up this weekend at the Olympic Games in Milan, with eight games left in the group stage. On Saturday, the final two matches of Group B see a battle for crucial points, while the United States look to keep rolling after a dominant opening game.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s full slate of matches (all times listed in MT):

4:10 a.m. – Sweden 🇸🇪 vs. Slovakia 🇸🇰

Players to watch: Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK), William Nylander (SWE), Rasmus Dahlin (SWE)
Group B is interesting right now. Slovakia leads with six points and a +4 goal differential, with wins over Finland and Italy. Finland and Sweden sit tied for second with three points apiece, with Finland holding the tiebreaker after beating Sweden on Friday. If Sweden hopes to have a chance at earning a bye to the quarterfinals–or at least getting a more favourable matchup in the qualifying round–they’ll need a decisive win over the Slovakians. But that won’t be easy, as Slovakia look hot right now, led by 2022 Olympic MVP Juraj Slafkovsky, who already has two goals and two assists.

4:10 a.m. – Germany 🇩🇪 vs. Latvia 🇱🇻

Players to watch: Tim Stützle (GER), Leon Draisaitl (GER), Renars Krastensbergs (LAT)
Germany started its Olympic campaign with a win over Denmark, boosted by a two-goal performance from Tim Stützle and a goal and an assist from Leon Draisaitl. Now, they face a Latvia group that opened their tournament with a 5-1 loss to the United States. Latvia managed to keep things tied at one apiece through half the game, thanks to a goal from Renars Krastensbergs, before the US ran away with it. Now big points are at stake as these two European nations go head-to-head.

8:40 a.m. – Finland 🇫🇮 vs. Italy 🇮🇹

Players to watch: Juuse Saros (FIN), Mikko Rantanen (FIN), Matthew Bradley (ITA), Dustin Gazley (ITA)
While they’ve yet to win a match, the Italians have been one of the surprises of this tournament so far, playing tight games against Sweden and Slovakia despite a lack of NHL presence on their roster. Matthew Bradley has a pair of goals for the host nation, and Dustin Gazley has contributed a goal and two assists. Finland, meanwhile, had a shaky first game against Slovakia, but brought physicality and offensive firepower against Sweden, helped by goaltender Juuse Saros holding their Nordic rivals to just one goal. If they can play like they did in that second game, this one is Finland’s for the taking.

1:10 p.m. – United States 🇺🇸 vs. Denmark 🇩🇰

Players to watch: Brock Nelson (USA), Jack Eichel (USA), Jack Hughes (USA), Nikolaj Ehlers (DEN)
One of the favourites to challenge for gold, the United States opened their campaign on Thursday with a dominant 5-1 win over Latvia. Brock Nelson contributed two goals in that one, with Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk, and Jack Eichel all tallying two assists. Now they face off against Denmark, who fell 3-1 in their opening match against Germany.
Sponsored by bet365: