Elias Pettersson celebrates goal SWE

MILAN -- Team Sweden kept alive its hopes of winning Group B with a 5-3 victory against Team Slovakia at the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at Santagiulia Arena on Saturday.

Sweden (2-0-1-0) received two goals from Elias Pettersson, and Lucas Raymond had a goal and two assists. Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Markstrom made 29 saves in his first start of the tournament.

Juraj Slavkovsky scored for the third straight game and added an assist. and Samuel Hlajav made 46 saves for Slovakia (2-0-1-0).

Each team has six points.

Team Finland (1-0-1-0) can get to six points with a win against Team Italy on Saturday (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, ICI Télé, CBC Gem, SN, CBC) and it would go to tiebreakers; if Finland doesn’t get a regulation win, Sweden wins the group and a bye into the quarterfinals.

Slovakia would win the group if Finland wins in regulation.

Elias Pettersson gave Sweden a 3-2 lead at 14:29 of the second period when he was freed by a pass from Filip Forsberg and snapped a shot past Hlajav.

The Vancouver Canucks forward made it 4-2 at 7:57 of the third period with a one-timer off a beautiful cross-crease pass from Raymond.

Raymond scored on a beautiful individual effort at 11:38 to make it 5-2.

Dalibor Dvorsky cut it to 5-3 with 39 seconds remaining.

Joel Eriksson Ek gave Sweden a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 7:17 of the first period. He broke up a play inside his own blue line and created a 2-on-1 the other way before passing to Kempe. Hlavaj stopped the initial shot, but Eriksson Ek crashed the net and jammed home the rebound.

Slafkovsky tied it 1-1 at 8:59 with his third goal in as many games. A four-pass sequence around the offensive zone ended when Simon Nemec passed to Slafkovsky by the side boards to the right of the goalie. The one-timer beat Markstrom clean.

The Montreal Canadiens forward was taken No. 1 in the 2022 NHL Draft; Nemec, a defenseman, was selected No. 2 by the New Jersey Devils.

Kempe made it 2-1 on a power play at 7:06 of the second when he hammered home a slap shot five seconds after Slovakia’s Pavol Regenda took a penalty for kneeing.

Martin Gernat tied it 2-2 for Slovakia at 9:48, pouncing on a rebound before Markstrom could recover.