{"id":483645,"date":"2026-02-16T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=483645"},"modified":"2026-02-16T08:45:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T13:45:53","slug":"team-canada-2026-milano-cortina-olympics-hockey-news-notes-stats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/02\/16\/team-canada-2026-milano-cortina-olympics-hockey-news-notes-stats\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada and Some Olympics Hockey News, Notes, and Most Importantly, Stats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to our continued coverage for Canada<\/a> and the rest of the teams at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Canada breezed through the preliminary round. Moreover, they did so well, that they were able to drive their goal differential high enough to secure an easier<\/em> first-round playoff matchup. We use the term easier quite loosely, as many heavy favourites have found themselves trailing in games in this tournament, well into games, too. One example of that was the France and Czechia game, that saw France lead until David Pastrnak<\/a> scored to tie it at three, with just 6:37 to go in the second period. Czechia did go on to win that one by a score of 6-3. However, the point was hammered home, this is a short tournament, and these teams are good, especially when you consider many of their goaltenders being at, or very near, the NHL level. But we are here to discuss Canada, and some notes prior to the tournament continuing early on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Canada and the Rest of the Teams Olympics Hockey States and Standings<\/h2>\n

Coming into the tournament, Canada and the USA were considered favourites. Oddsmakers definitely had them above the rest. Furthermore, Sweden and Finland would’ve found themselves in the next tier. That would be followed by Czechia, in terms of favourites to claim the Gold Medal prize. Teams like Denmark, Latvia, Switzerland, Germany, and Slovakia, would see themselves at the next level, but probably not competing for gold, in the end. In any case, throughout the tournament so far, the cream of the crop has risen to the top.<\/p>\n

The preliminary round ended Sunday with Canada defeating France by a score of 10-2. Meanwhile, USA skated past Germany 5-1. This meant that Canada was awarded the top seed going into the playoff round. They ended the first three games of competition with a +17 goal differential. In contrast, the States only managed a +11 differential. Finland did match that amount, but they had to overcome a 4-1 loss to Slovakia in their opener.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Canada won the top seed, that allows them to await the winner of Czechia and Denmark qualification round matchup. They already beat Czechia comfortably, 5-0, in their tournament opener. On the other hand, Denmark finished the tournament 1-0-2-0, with a minus three goal differential. So, they would be considered an easier opponent, if Canada ends up facing off against them. Still, even they hung around in the game against the Americans. Denmark was winning 2-1 until Jack Eichel<\/a> had tied it up around the halfway mark of the second period, and then they would never look back. However, that ended up being a costly game for the Americans if they wanted to indeed pass Canada’s goal differential standing. USA awaits a potentially much more difficult opponent in their quarterfinal matchup, with them getting the Sweden\/Latvia winner.<\/p>\n

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Game times:<\/p>\n

Tues. Feb. 17
GER \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea v FRA \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 – 6:10am ET
SUI \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udded v ITA \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 – 6:10am ET
CZE \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddff v DEN \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf0 – 10:40am ET
SWE \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea v LAT \ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddfb – 3:10pm ET<\/p>\n

Wed. Feb. 18: QF
SVK \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf0 v GER\/FRA – 6:10am ET
CAN \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 v CZE\/DEN – 10:40am ET
FIN \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee v SUI\/ITA – 12:10pm ET
USA \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 v SWE\/LAT – 3:10pm ET<\/p>\n

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n