Checking In With The Canes At The Olympics

RALEIGH, N.C. - Preliminary play is in the rearview and elimination games are now on the horizon at the Winter Olympics.

Three of the five Carolina Hurricanes participating in the competition — Sebastian Aho (FIN), Seth Jarvis (CAN) and Jaccob Slavin (USA) — have earned byes to Wednesday's quarterfinals as their countries finished among the top four seeds during the group stage.

Frederik Andersen and Nikolaj Ehlers of Denmark, meanwhile, will join the remaining eight teams in Tuesday's qualifying playoff contests to determine the final four quarterfinal places.

The qualifiers and quarterfinals are single-elimination games. Teams that ultimately reach Friday's semifinals will play in either the bronze- or gold-medal games on Saturday and Sunday, depending on semifinal results. The full schedule is available here.

Current Standings (QF Byes In Bold)

1. Canada
2. United States
3. Slovakia
4. Finland
5. Switzerland
6. Germany
7. Sweden
8. Czechia
9. Denmark
10. Latvia
11. France
12. Italy

Aho, Finland Find Their Stride

After suffering a tournament-opening upset at the hands of Slovakia, the Finns bounced back with a rousing win over rival Sweden on Friday and a massive rout of host nation Italy on Saturday. Their 2-1-0 mark was good enough to capture the fourth and final bye to the quarterfinals, joining fellow Group B competitor Slovakia.

Aho scored twice in Saturday's romp, lighting the lamp for the first time in Olympic competition. The Canes' alternate captain led all Finnish forwards with 18:53 average TOI during the three preliminary tilts.

Next Game: Wednesday, Feb. 18 vs. (5) Switzerland OR (12) Italy | 12:10 p.m. ET | Quarterfinal

Andersen, Ehlers Guide Denmark To First Win

The Danes struggled out of the gates, dropping their first two games to Germany and the U.S. before ousting Latvia on Sunday to cement third place in Group C. That proved to be a crucial victory for seeding purposes, setting Denmark up for a clash with the eighth-ranked Czechs while Latvia is left to contend with the seventh-place Swedes.

Andersen backstopped Sunday's win with a sterling 33 saves on 35 shots, moving to 1-1-0 with a .918 SV% following a 23-for-26 showing in Denmark's debut defeat to Germany.

Ahead of him, Ehlers has produced three points in three games while logging 13:13 TOI on average, both of which rank second among Danish forwards. The 30-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday, tallied his first Olympic goal against Latvia, which proved to be the game-winner.

Next Game: Tuesday, Feb. 17 vs. (8) Czechia | 10:40 a.m. ET | Qualifying Round

Jarvis Carves Out Role As Canada Cruises

The powerhouse Canadians made quick work of their group-stage games, going 3-0-0 and scoring the most goals (20) while allowing the fewest (3). Punctuating its trio of dominant performances with a 10-2 win over France on Sunday, Canada clinched the top seed heading into quarterfinal play.

Jarvis was a healthy extra during his team's first foray in Milan, but joined the fray for wins over Switzerland and France. Totaling 19:51 TOI across his two outings, Jarvis brought speed and versatility to a bottom-six role as he looked to solidify a spot in the lineup for the higher-stakes battles to come.

Next Game: Wednesday, Feb. 18 vs. (8) Czechia OR (9) Denmark | 10:40 a.m. ET | Quarterfinal

Slavin Steady For The States

While Canada's star power has grabbed the headlines, the U.S. also swept its group to clinch the No. 2 seed behind its northern rival. Toppling Latvia, Denmark and Germany with a +11 combined goal differential, the Americans have put themselves on a path toward a potential gold-medal rematch of last year's 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada, should both teams stay on track.

As usual, Slavin has filled a shutdown role for a star-spangled U.S. blue line, helping his team post the tournament's only perfect penalty kill during preliminary play (10-for-10). Logging an average of 14:47 TOI per game, Slavin also collected an assist against Denmark.

Next Game: Wednesday, Feb. 18 vs. (7) Sweden OR (10) Latvia | 3:10 p.m. ET | Quarterfinal