The Men’s Hockey Tournament has reached the final four teams today, with the semifinals featuring two marquee matchups. Finland will be looking to get another crack at gold after winning it at the 2022 Olympics, while Canada, Slovakia, and the United States will all be looking to return to the gold medal game after failing to do so over the last couple of Olympics.
Canada vs Finland (10:40 a.m.)
In a game where they had to battle back to find their way to the semifinals, Canada pulled off a 4-3 overtime victory over Czechia on Feb. 18. While Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues) did have a bit of a shaky start to the game, he came up big when Canada needed him and helped keep things alive as his team made their comeback. Heading into today’s matchup against Finland, the Canadians have scored the most goals in the tournament (24) and have been great on the penalty kill, killing off seven of their nine penalties.
A big question mark heading into the game is the status of captain Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), who left their semifinal game with a lower-body injury. If he is not able to go, head coach John Cooper will likely turn to Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks) again to fill Crosby’s spot on the power play and will have to shuffle lines around a bit to fill the void left by Crosby. Canada will need a strong game from their entire lineup to take down a strong Finland team, and for Binnington to play a full 60-minute game.
Finland had a rough start to their semifinal game against Switzerland, falling down 2-0 after the first period, but came back strong in the second and third periods to send their game to overtime before winning it on a goal from Arturri Lehkonen (Colorado Avalanche). Today, against the Canadians, they will certainly want to avoid falling behind early and come out on time.
Jusse Saros (Nashville Predators) has been great for the Finns in between the pipes and will be facing his toughest test in the tournament against the Canadians, and he will need help from the defense in front of him to keep things clean and the Canadian stars at bay. Staying out of the penalty box will be key for Finland, as Canada has one of the most potent units at the Olympics. On the flip side, they will also need their power play to get on track when given the chance, as they have scored only twice in 10 power play opportunities.
While Canada has probably the deepest roster in this year’s Olympics, Finland does have enough talent to take them on, but will need the best of games from all of their players to pull off a victory.
Favorite: Canada
United States vs Slovakia (3:10 p.m.)
The Americans, like every other semifinal team, had a hard-fought quarterfinal matchup, winning in overtime against Sweden. Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) was rock solid again for his country and kept the high-powered Swedes at bay outside of the lone goal from Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) with less than two minutes left in regulation. The depth in the United States’ lineup shone, with the likes of Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) and Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils) being major contributors. They will need to keep that play up in today’s matchup against one of the biggest surprises at this year’s Olympics: Slovakia.
Defensively, the Americans have been one of the best teams. They have allowed only 6 goals (tied for the fewest) in the tournament and are perfect on the penalty kill, killing all 10 penalties to date. With the talent the Slovaks have in their lineup, they will test the Americans plenty, and the United States’ defensive game will need to be at the top of its game again.
Related: Guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics Men’s Hockey Tournament
Slovakia has been led by two youngsters, Juraj Slafkovský (Montreal Canadiens) and Dalibor Dvorsky (St. Louis Blues), throughout the tournament. While a lot of the talk has been about Slafkovský, Dvorsky has been great for Slovakia at both ends of the ice and has totalled the most points by a St. Louis Blues player in a single Olympic tournament (six points).
Overall, in their quarterfinal game against Germany, the Slovaks did a strong job of shutting down the Germans’ star talent, including limiting Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) to just 2 shots on goal and not allowing a power play goal to a strong German unit. Minnesota Wild prospect Samuel Hlavaj continued his great Olympics in net as well. They will need that same effort from both their defense and Hlavaj to slow down an even more talented American lineup. Slovakia does have a deep enough lineup on both sides of the puck to give the United States a very tough matchup.
Favorite: United States
Who Claims Their Spot in the Gold Medal Game?
While Canada, Finland, and the United States have a long history of reaching the medal round, Slovakia, as mentioned above, is looking to get to the gold medal game for the first time. Can they or Finland pull off what many would view as upsets? Time will tell, and it will be a tough task for both countries, but anything is possible. The semifinals of this year’s Olympics should not disappoint with the excitement and entertainment it will bring today.
