5 things learned from Day 7 of Olympics

MILAN -- The qualifying playoffs of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 was Tuesday.

Team Germany eliminated Team France, 5-1, Team Switzerland got by Team Italy, 3-0. Team Czechia edged Team Denmark 3-2, and Team Sweden defeated Team Latvia 5-1.

NHL.com is on site in Milan and will provide insights and observations each day.

Here are 5 things learned from Day 7 of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics:

Markstrom’s the man

Jacob Markstrom has put together consecutive quality starts for Team Sweden. It’s unclear if he will get the start against Team USA in the quarterfinals Wednesday as it would mean starts on consecutive nights, but it looks fairly clear at this point that Markstrom, the New Jersey Devils goalie, is the favorite for coach Sam Hallam after making 20 saves in the 5-1 win against Team Latvia in the qualification round Tuesday. He also made 29 saves in a 5-3 win against Team Slovakia on Sunday. However, the third goal he allowed at 19:21 of the third period is the reason why Sweden had to play in the qualification round. Regardless, Markstrom has been steady in his two starts whereas Filip Gustavsson looked shaky in his two, a 5-2 win against Team Italy and a 4-1 loss to Team Finland. Gustavsson allowed three first-period goals in his two starts; Markstrom has allowed one, against Slovakia. Gustavsson didn’t dress Tuesday as Hallam instead went with Jesper Wallstedt as the backup. Did he do that to save Gustavsson for the quarterfinals against the U.S.? Anything is possible, but it’s hard to believe Hallam would leave his preferred goalie out of the lineup in a must-win game against Latvia just to save him for the U.S. There were no guarantees. They had to win Tuesday and he went with Markstrom, who got the job done. It would be surprising at this point if he doesn’t go back to him in another must-win game 24 hours later.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Sweden-Latvia

The Czechs are playing the long game

Remember when Team Czechia lost to Team Canada 5-0 in the first game of preliminary round on Feb. 12? Turns out that was all part of Czechia’s plan. At least that’s what Martin Necas and Tomas Hertl said Tuesday in a joking manner. You see, the Czechs figure beating mighty Canada twice in the same tournament would be impossible, and with the quarterfinal game on Wednesday being an elimination game, why not let them win the game in the preliminary round? “Exactly, that was our plan, because we say we can’t probably beat Canada in same tournament twice,” Hertl said, “so we give them the first win. So now it's our turn.” Said Necas, “We let them win the first one because we knew we were not going to win two in a row against Canada.” All kidding aside, the Czechs looked strong against a feisty Team Denmark Tuesday and however they planned they get another shot at Canada.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Czechia-Denmark

Swiss look clinical heading into quarterfinals

It wasn't dominant on the scoreboard, but Switzerland advanced to the quarterfinals and has to be pleased with its all-around game. The Swiss outshot Italy, 51-20, were 2-for-5 on the power play, 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, and goalie Leonardo Genoni had his second shutout in his three Olympic starts. Though Finland may be the favorite, it has not played since Saturday; Switzerland has played twice since then and has shown no worse for the wear. "If you look at that track record, I think that they are [the favorite]," Swiss captain Roman Josi said. "I mean, they have an amazing team, they got some amazing players and like I said, they always play well as a team in in the world championships and Olympics. We're confident we're going to play our best."

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Switzerland-Italy

Germany has dangerous line

At times during Team Germany’s 5-1 win against Team France on Tuesday, NHL players Leon Draisaitl, JJ Peterka and Tim Stutzle skated on the same line. One of the results was Peterka getting his first goal of the Olympics. That line will be needed to produce again Wednesday when Germany takes on Team Slovakia in the quarterfinals (6:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, CBC Gem, SN, RDS). And it could be trouble for Slovakia. “I wouldn't want to be out there against them,” Germany forward Nico Sturm said. “Leon's puck-protection skills are probably the best in the League. And he has the ability to find players where, you know, there's no seams, really, and he makes like a cross-ice pass with his backhand. And obviously, then he has two guys that can finish, so it's about as lethal as he gets. And you know, they've been our most important guys, and they have to continue to do so.”

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Germany-France

Canada, U.S. are ready to go

Each team held a spirited practice on the auxiliary rink at Santaguilia Arena on Tuesday after being off Monday. Canada went first and it appears every player on the roster is healthy is ready to go. Does that mean Brad Marchand gets back into the lineup for their quarterfinal game against Czechia (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, CBC, TSN)? For the United States, defenseman Charlie McAvoy practiced for the first time without a full face guard. Forward, Brock Nelson, however, was wearing one. What that means, we don’t know, but like Canada coach Jon Cooper, Team USA coach Mike Sullivan will have some lineup decisions to make for the quarterfinal game against Sweden.