5 things learned from Day 4 of Olympics

MILAN – The men’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 continued Saturday with four games.

Team Latvia topped Team Germany, 4-3, Team Sweden defeated Team Slovakia, 5-3, Team Finland crushed Team Italy, 11-0, and Team USA topped Team Denmark, 6-3.

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

Here are five things learned from Day 4 of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics:

Finland wants that wild card

Finland entered its game against Italy with no chance of winning Group B. However, they could still win the one wild-card spot into the quarterfinals with a strong goal differential and goals-scored number, which explains why they tried to score as many goals as possible against the host nation. Finland scored three times in the first period and finished with 11 goals, the most ever by a team in an Olympics with NHL players. That wild card would get them the No. 4 seed and two days off before playing again Wednesday. “It's all good teams like we've seen in the tournament, and you take your foot off the gas and it'll cost you,” forward Sebastian Aho said. “Just overall happy how we've trended upwards, the hunger we have. We obviously want to play the most meaningful games here, that's the goal."

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Finland-Italy

Swedes have a discipline problem

Sweden took seven penalties in each of its final two Group B games. They didn’t allow a power-play goal, but were chasing the game in a 4-1 loss to archrival Finland on Friday. Against Slovakia, they allowed a goal on the final penalty of the game, a frustration slashing foul by forward Lucas Raymond while the Swedes had a three-goal lead and were on the precipice of claiming the group championship. Dalibor Dvorsky scored on the power play to make it 5-3 and change the whole picture-- Slovakia won the group on goal differential to push Sweden into third and force them to play in the qualification playoff round on Tuesday. “I think the negative part of this game is our discipline through the whole game. We are taking too many penalties out there,” Sweden coach Sam Hallam said. “That cost us.” None more than the one Raymond committed, which overshadowed his three-point (goal, two assists) performance. “We all saw that penalty in the end,” Hallam said. “He has to own it, we support him. We do things together as a team. We learn from it. I’m pretty sure he is going to be fired up for the next game.”

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Sweden-Slovakia

Dans-ing Latvians

Dans Locmelis scored two power-play goals and Team Latvia stunned Team Germany with a 4-3 win at Rho Arena. Locmelis showed why he might have a future with the Boston Bruins, who selected the 22-year-old forward in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. His shot alone is worth the price of admission. Just ask forward Zemgus Girgensons, who had to duck so he didn't get clipped in the head by Locmelis' shot from the right face-off circle into the top right corner of the net, which tied the game 2-2 at 11:58 of the second period. Locmelis has 15 goals with Providence of the American Hockey League this season, so he knows a thing or two about offense. More importantly, Latvia showed why it can hang and absolutely belongs on the best-on-best Olympic stage. The Germans certainly had the puck more, but Latvia played physical and hard in the defensive end to stop plays in time. And they were opportunistic offensively. Do that and you can win some games in this tournament. It was Latvia's first Olympic win over Germany and just its fourth with NHL participation. It's big.

Gut check time for Germans

This is not what Germany expected, but a 4-3 loss to Latvia on Saturday despite a 22-11 edge in shots on goal after the first period puts the Germans in a tough spot. Now they have to win against the Americans on Sunday for a chance to finish first in Group C and secure a bye into the quarterfinals. But if Germany can't beat Latvia, how in the world will it beat the U.S.? It's a fair and reasonable question, but not Germany's primary concern. What the Germans have to focus on is to find a way to score more goals. They have six in two games, including a 3-1 win against Denmark on Thursday, but that certainly won't cut it against the Americans or any of the big countries in this tournament. German coach Harold Kreis recognized the need for more offense late in the second period and put Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle, and JJ Peterka together on the same line. They were creative and generated scoring chances, but it wasn't good enough as they couldn't connect. Germany also went 0-for-4 on the power play. Finding consistent offense against Team USA will be a far greater challenge for the Germans.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Germany-Latvia

Close call for U.S.

It’s becoming apparent there are few easy games here at the Olympics. Despite a roster chock full of NHL stars, Team USA struggled with Team Denmark, falling behind early and then allowing a goal late in the second period that saw their lead trimmed to one goal. They eventually got it together and put Denmark away, but they need to play crisper, more passionate hockey if they are going to get to their desired goal of a gold medal. They get their next chance to improve their game on Sunday against Germany with the Group C title on the line. A win would give them two days to hone their game before the quarterfinals, where one bad game would result in an early trip home.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: USA-Denmark