USA, Switzerland End Prelims with Wins | NOTEBOOK

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are underway in Italy and several Devils are taking part, representing their countries in Men’s Ice Hockey: Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler (Switzerland), Jack Hughes (USA), Jesper Bratt and Jacob Markstrom (Sweden) and Simon Nemec (Slovakia).

The tournament begins Wednesday, Feb. 11 and concludes with the Gold Medal Game on Sunday, Feb. 22.

Stay tuned here for daily updates, recaps, videos and more on the Devils players and how they’re performing for their countries.

Feb. 15 Games

USA 5, Germany 1

Devils center Jack Hughes picked up three shots in 11:19 minutes of ice time as Team USA topped Germany, 5-1, to finish the preliminary round.

Auston Matthews (2), Brock Faber, Zach Werenski and Tage Thompson tallied for the U.S.

Tim Stutzle was the lone scorer for Germany.

Switzerland 4, Czechia 3 OT

Timo Meier scored his third goal of the tournament and added an assist for a two-point game as Switzerland finished round robin play with a 4-3 overtime victory against Czechia.

Meier also had five shots, a plus-2 and 20:09 minutes of ice time. Devils captain Nico Hischier also had five shots for the Swiss while picking up an assist, his first point of the tournament. He logged 21:45 minutes of play. Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler played 18:04 while adding four penlaty minutes.

Dean Kukan scored at 1:49 of OT to lift the Swiss. Roman Josi and Pius Suter also tallied.

For Czechia, the club received goals from Martin Necas, Radim Simek and Filip Chaplik.

Feb. 14 Games

USA 6, Denmark 3

Devils center Jack Hughes scored his first goal as an Olympian to help Team USA defeat Denmark, 6-3. Hughes added two shots and was a plus-2 in 13:28 minutes of ice time. He was double shifted and even elevated into the top-6 during the course of the game.

Matt Boldy, Brady Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanafin and Jake Guentzel scored for the Americans.

Sweden 5, Slovakia 3

Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom made his first appearance of the Olympics and helped lift Sweden to a 5-3 victory against Slovakia.

Markstrom stopped 29 of 32 shots to earn the victory. Forward Jesper Bratt was scratched in the game. Joel Eriksson Ek, Andre Kempe, Elias Pettersson (2) and Lucas Raymond tallied goals for the Swedes.

Defenseman Simon Nemec picked up an assist in 21:03 minutes of ice time in the losing effort for Slovakia. Juraj Slafkovsky, Martin Gernat and Dalibor Dvorsky picked up goals for the Slovaks.

Feb. 13 Games

Finland 4, Sweden 1

Devils forward Jesper Bratt was held off the scoresheet in Sweden's 4-1 loss to Finland. He finished with a minus-2 rating in 9:23 minutes of ice time. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom served as the backup for Sweden and did not see game action.
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Rasmus Dahlin scored the lone goal for Sweden on the power play. Finland received goals from Nikolas Matinpalo, Anton Lundell, Joel Armia, and Mikko Rantanen to secure the victory.

Slovakia 3, Italy 2

Devils defenseman Simon Nemec fired four shots on goal and logged 20:03 of ice time to help guide Slovakia to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Italy. Nemec played a steady game on the blue line as the Slovakians improved to a perfect 2-0 record in Group B play.
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Libor Hudacek, Matus Sukel, and Adam Ruzicka provided the offense for Slovakia, building a 3-1 lead before holding off a late Italian push. Goaltender Stanislav Skorvanek made 20 saves to secure the win.
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Canada 5, Switzerland 1

Devils captain Nico Hischier, forward Timo Meier, and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler could not hold off a potent Canadian offense as Switzerland fell 5-1 in Group A action. Meier was the most active offensively for the Swiss, recording a team-high five shots on goal in 19:21 of ice time. Hischier logged 21:28 but finished with a minus-3 rating, while Siegenthaler played 22:10 on the blue line.
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Pius Suter scored the lone goal for Switzerland on the power play in the first period. Canada’s star-studded roster overwhelmed the Swiss, with goals from Connor McDavid, Thomas Harley, Macklin Celebrini, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan MacKinnon. Goaltender Logan Thompson made 24 saves to earn the win for Canada

Feb. 12 Games

USA 5, Latvia 1

Devils center Jack Hughes recorded two assists in the United States' 5-1 victory over Latvia to open tournament play. He set up Brock Nelson for the game-winning goal in the second period and later initiated a play with his brother, Quinn Hughes, that led to Nelson's second tally. Hughes finished with a plus-2 rating in 11:14 of ice time.

Brock Nelson scored twice for the Americans, while Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, and Tage Thompson also found the back of the net. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves in the win.

Switzerland 4, France 0

Devils forward Timo Meier scored two goals in the third period to seal Switzerland's 4-0 victory over France in their tournament opener. He finished with a plus-3 rating and fired four shots on goal, while captain Nico Hischier and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler helped shut down the French offense.

Damien Riat and J.J. Moser scored the opening goals for the Swiss. Goaltender Leonardo Genoni made 27 saves to earn the shutout.

Feb. 11 Games

Slovakia 4, Finland 1

Devils defenseman Simon Nemec logged a team-high 24:56 minutes of ice time and picked up an assist as his Slovakians defeated Finland, 4-1. He has also had four shots while shouldering the heavy workload.

Juraj Slafkovksy had two goals while Adam Ruzicka and Dalibor Dvorsky added tallies.

Sweden 5, Italy 2

Devils forward Jesper Bratt notched an assist in Sweden's 5-2 victory against Italy to open tournament play. He had three shots in 16:36 minutes of ice time. Goalie Jacob Markstrom backed up for the Swedes.

Gabriel Landeskog, Gustav Forsling, William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad and Victor Hedman scored for Sweden.

Pre-Tournament Roundup

10 TAKEAWAYS: OLYMPIC SEND OFF

The NHL has officially hit pause and the hockey world’s attention shifts to Milan for the next couple of weeks. While some of the league’s biggest stars are heading overseas for best-on-best Olympic competition, others (myself included!) are packing their bags for a different kind of trip, chasing some sun, grabbing a little relaxation, loading up on vitamin D, and resetting before the final stretch of the NHL season.

It’s definitely a little strange to have such a long break in February, but it’s the trade-off that comes with Olympic hockey. The players not participating will be back in action sooner than it feels, teams are allowed to start holding practices again on February 18, though some rosters will still be missing their Olympians. It’ll create a bit of a mini training camp vibe around the league. But before we start thinking about the stretch run, this is a good moment for everyone, players and fans alike, to take a breath and enjoy the break.

Full story here.