{"id":483653,"date":"2026-02-16T18:22:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T23:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=483653"},"modified":"2026-02-16T18:22:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T23:22:01","slug":"2026-milano-cortina-winter-olympics-qualifying-round-mens-ice-hockey-predictions-sweden-latvia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/02\/16\/2026-milano-cortina-winter-olympics-qualifying-round-mens-ice-hockey-predictions-sweden-latvia\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Winter Olympics Qualification Round Hockey Predictions, Sweden vs Latvia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Welcome to\u00a0Last Word On Hockey\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Predictions from the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Each day, our writers look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at\u00a0<\/span>Sweden<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>against Latvia<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>Don\u2019t forget to check out more Olympic Predictions, as our writers will continue this series throughout the Olympics, right up to the Gold Medal Game.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

2026 Olympics Hockey Predictions with Sweden vs Latvia<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

International Head-to-Head Record:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Sweden has a 20-1-1 record plus one tie against Latvia in 23 games since 1997.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time: <\/span><\/strong>3<\/span>:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 12:10 p.m. Pacific<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/a>: In Canada: SN, CBC, CBC Gem, TSN<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the United States: USA Network, Peacock<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Location:\u00a0<\/strong>Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last game of the four qualifying round matches is coming up, featuring Sweden and Latvia. Sweden sits in the seventh seed, despite going 2-1 in the group stage. Latvia went 1-2 in the group stage and has the tenth seed. The winner of this matchup will go on to face the United States in the quarterfinals tomorrow. It will certainly be a tough path to the gold for either of these two teams.<\/p>\n

The Swedish Story<\/h3>\n

Further information on Team Sweden can be found in the links. You can find their\u00a0<\/span>roster<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>projected lines<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>here.<\/p>\n

Sweden got the short end of the stick in Group B’s three-way tie, in which they lost the tiebreaker to both Slovakia and Finland. If they had won the game against Slovakia by three goals, they would have been in first place in the group. With their unfortunate fate, they will now need to play an extra game against Latvia.<\/p>\n

The Swedes have a good team going for them, but they need to find another gear if they truly want to contend with the big dogs. They do have solid depth, with 14 skaters recording at least a point in the first three games.<\/p>\n

The Latvian Story<\/h3>\n

More information on Team Latvia can be found in the links. You can find their roster<\/a> and projected lines<\/a> here.<\/p>\n

Latvia did not have the preliminary round they were looking for, finishing last in Group C. Granted, their group featured four competitive teams, so it could not be a walk in the park for them. They do not have as many NHL players on their roster as other teams, but they have seasoned European veterans who can still hang with NHLers in some capacity. It has been those European players who have chipped in offensively so far as well, with Eduards Tralmaks, Renars Krastenbergs, and Dans Locmelis<\/a> each having scored two goals in the tournament.<\/p>\n

Starting Goalies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Below are the projected starters for today\u2019s game. Please check social media for the most updated information before making any player prop bets.<\/p>\n

Filip Gustavsson<\/a> will likely get the nod for Sweden in goal. Although there is a game tomorrow, the Swedes cannot afford to think that far ahead just yet. They should start the goalie that is supposed to be the starter, and Gustavsson’s the man. In the two games he has started in this tournament, he is 1-1, with a 2.55 goals-against-average and an .889 save percentage. In both games, he had a shaky start but finished strong. He will need a strong performance throughout to send Sweden to the quarterfinals.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Latvia, both goaltenders have a good amount of NHL experience. It may be tempting to start Arturs Silovs<\/a> for a third-consecutive game. In his two starts, plus when he came in relief of Elvis Merzlikins<\/a>, Silovs has a 1-1 record, a 3.01 goals-against average, and an .873 save percentage. Merzlikins has a 0-1 record, a 6.00 goals-against average, and an .875 save percentage.<\/p>\n

Olympics Hockey Predictions and Best Bets<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Based on firepower alone, Sweden should end up taking this one. It is important, though, for Team Sweden that they should be aware that they will play again tomorrow against the United States if they win this game. If they take a substantial lead at any point in the game, it may be wise to conserve as much energy as possible. For Latvia, they should lay it all on the line in hopes of an upset victory. In any case, the United States are awaiting to pounce on their future opponent.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Sweden wins 5-2.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Best Bets<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To wrap things up, here are our anytime goal scorer picks. For Sweden, we will pick Gabriel Landeskog<\/a> to score in a big-time game. On the Latvia side, we will pick Dans Locmelis to score, as he did in his last game.<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Last Word On Hockey\u2019s\u00a0Predictions from the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Each day, our writers look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at\u00a0Sweden\u00a0against Latvia.\u00a0Don\u2019t forget to check […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5733,"featured_media":483690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2963,4547,304,4548,4524],"tags":[8208,8262,1102],"class_list":["post-483653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-olympics","category-hockey","category-international-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-2026-winter-olympics","tag-team-latvia","tag-team-sweden"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5733"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483653"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":483691,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483653\/revisions\/483691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}