{"id":483708,"date":"2026-02-17T19:30:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T00:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=483708"},"modified":"2026-02-17T19:30:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T00:30:05","slug":"2026-milano-cortina-winter-olympics-quarterfinals-round-hockey-predictions-finland-switzerland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/02\/17\/2026-milano-cortina-winter-olympics-quarterfinals-round-hockey-predictions-finland-switzerland\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Winter Olympics Hockey Quarterfinals Predictions with Finland vs Switzerland"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Welcome to\u00a0Last Word On Hockey\u2019s<\/em> 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics men’s ice hockey Predictions. Each day, our writers here 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>Team Finland<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>taking on\u00a0<\/span>Team Switzerland.\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\u00a0with Finland and\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Switzerland
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

International Head-to-Head Record:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Finland has a 9-2 record against Switzerland since 1991.<\/p>\n

Time: <\/span><\/strong>12<\/span>:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 9:10 a.m. Pacific, Wednesday, February 18th<\/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>Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena in Rho, Lombardy, Italy<\/span><\/p>\n

The quarterfinals begin in the 2026 Winter Olympics with no rest for the weary. With just five days remaining in the Olympics, we are going full speed until the finish. This quarterfinal matchup features Finland and Switzerland, two teams that have not faced each other in a best-on-best format since the last Winter Olympic Games in Italy, 2006 Torino. Finland went 2-1 in the group stage, while Switzerland went 1-1-1 in the group stage and shut out Italy in the qualifiers, 3-0.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Finland Story<\/h3>\n

To prepare for the game, here are the <\/span>projected lines<\/a> for Finland. They will be updated prior to puck drop. Finland has the benefit of having a bye to the quarterfinals, being the fourth seed overall. That gives them an extra day of rest against a Swiss team that played against Italy on earlier today.<\/p>\n

The Finns are a team that has shown resilience and toughness. Following their loss to Slovakia in their first game, they could have followed it up with another stinker against Sweden, but they beat them and Italy to propel themselves to second in Group B. They are a team that feels very united and is performing by committee. Despite having a +11 goal differential (16 goals for, five against), no one on the team has more than two goals or four points. 20 out of their 22 skaters have recorded at least a point. If they are going to go far in these Winter Olympics, their depth may get them there, despite their lack of a superstar.<\/p>\n

The Switzerland Story<\/h3>\n

To prepare for the game, here are the projected lines<\/a> for Switzerland. They will be updated prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n

The fifth-seeded Swiss team has a plethora of NHL talent and has proven that they have the tenacity to be competitive. Although they lost to Canada, 5-1, they followed it up with a strong 4-3 overtime win against Czechia. This game will undoubtedly be the toughest so far, and it will be a good test for the Swiss, if they can truly hang with the big boys. Timo Meier<\/a> has impressed so far, with seven points in four games.<\/p>\n

The injuries remain a concern for Switzerland, as Kevin Fiala<\/a> suffered an Olympic-ending and season-ending leg injury<\/a> against Canada<\/a> last week. Defenceman Andrea Glauser battled through his injury to play in the previous game against Italy. Forward Denis Malgin<\/a> did not suit up for that game.<\/p>\n

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

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

Finland will likely start\u00a0<\/span>Juuse Saros<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for a fourth-consecutive game. He has started in all the games so far in these Olympics, and there is no reason he won’t for the rest of the way. In the three Olympic games he has started, he has a 2-1 record, a 1.34 goals-against average, and a .946 save percentage.<\/p>\n

For Switzerland, even though 38-year-old Leonardo Genoni played on Tuesday against Italy, it would be a shock if he did not start against the Finns. He has a 3-0-0 record, a 0.99 goals-against average, and a .962 save percentage in Olympic action so far. He has thrived on the Olympic stage, and he deserves every chance to lead the Swiss to potential victory.<\/p>\n

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

Finland undoubtedly has the better team on paper, but Switzerland will likely give them all they got. It might be a strong goaltending duel between Saros and Genoni. There is potential for an upset for sure, but we do not think that will happen this time.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Finland wins 4-2.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

To wrap things up, here are our anytime goal scorer picks. For Finland, we will pick captain Mikael Granlund<\/a> to pot a goal. For Switzerland, we will pick the hot hand, Timo Meier, to score.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, please check out the next page of this article for predictions for Slovakia vs Germany.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More Group B Olympics Hockey Predictions: Slovakia vs Germany<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

International Head-to-Head Record:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Germany has a 11-6 record against Slovakia since 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>6<\/span>:10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 3:10 a.m. Pacific, Wednesday, February 18th<\/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

Slovakia<\/a> and Germany<\/a> will do battle in Milan in the early game on Wednesday. Slovakia went 2-1 in the group stage, while Germany went 1-2 in the group stage and defeated France in the qualifiers to get here.<\/p>\n

The Slovakia Story<\/h3>\n

To prepare for the game, here are Slovakia’s projected lines<\/a>. They will be updated prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n

The Slovaks scored an upset victory over Finland last Wednesday, and they have stayed strong in order to win their group and land the third seed overall. They won the bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics in 2022. There were no NHL players in that tournament, but Juraj Slafkovsky<\/a> tore the competition apart as a teenager. He is doing that again in these Olympics, with six points in three games so far. They have had a magical run up to this point, with just a handful of NHL players at their disposal.<\/p>\n

The Germany Story<\/h3>\n

To prepare for the action, here are Germany’s projected lines<\/a>. They will be updated prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n

While Germany also does not have many NHL players on their roster, they have the elite offensive talent called Leon Draisaitl<\/a> leading the charge. Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle<\/a> have impressed so far, each with six points in four games. Despite that, their play so far in these Olympics has been rather underwhelming. Their qualifying game victory against France<\/a> doesn’t tell us much either about their level of play coming into this.<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

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

Slovakia will likely start 24-year-old Samuel Hlavaj in the net. He was the goaltender who stole the game against Finland and has had a strong performance thus far in these Olympics. He has a 1-1 record, a 3.00 goals-against average, and a .934 save percentage in two starts in the tournament.<\/p>\n

For Germany, veteran goaltender Philipp Grubauer<\/a> will likely start. He has a 2-1 record, a 2.03 goals-against average, and a .934 save percentage in three games in the tournament. He had also been having his strongest-ever season with the Seattle Kraken, with an 11-6-3 record, a 2.43 goals-against average and a .916 save rate.<\/p>\n

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

This is essentially a toss-up of a game. The Germans will undoubtedly rely on their top-end talent in hopes of overwhelming the Slovaks, but Slovakia has shown that they can play a balanced game and surprise teams in that way. Expect a very close game. Can the story continue for Slovakia?<\/p>\n

Prediction: Slovakia wins 3-2.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

To wrap things up, here are our anytime goal scorer picks. On the Slovakia side, count on Juraj Slafkovsky to chip in once again on the Olympic stage. For Germany, we will pick leading scorer Tim Stutzle to contribute a goal. Stutzle is red hot. He has goals in three of Germany’s four games, and had a five game-goal streak with his NHL’s Ottawa Senators<\/a> prior to the tournament.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Last Word On Hockey\u2019s 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics men’s ice hockey Predictions. Each day, our writers here 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\u00a0Team Finland\u00a0taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5733,"featured_media":483599,"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":[8208,6932,193,1157,3187,5726,5725,5741,5739,429],"class_list":["post-483708","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-juraj-slafkovsky","tag-leon-draisaitl","tag-mikael-granlund","tag-philipp-grubauer","tag-team-finland","tag-team-germany","tag-team-slovakia","tag-team-switzerland","tag-timo-meier"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483708","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=483708"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":483724,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483708\/revisions\/483724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}