Winter Olympics: Panthers Daily Recap – Feb. 13

The Finns were running on Florida Panthers power on Friday.

Helping Finland take down rival Sweden, Anton Lundell scored in the first period of a 4-1 win on a goal that was assisted by Panthers teammates Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola.

An amazing moment, the goal marked the first time in Florida’s history that three of its players have linked up for a single goal during an international best-on-best hockey tournament.

“I don't think I have given any thought to that yet, but it's something I'm going to probably look later on and think it's a cool moment,” Lundell told reporters in Italy. “But we're here to win. We do everything we can to improve from game to game. It was a great step forward.”

That’s what the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 is all about!

To see how the rest of the day unfolded and how the Panthers performed, continue below.

Finland 4, Sweden 1

Bouncing back from a surprising loss to Slovakia in their first game, Finland rode a two-goal first period to a 4-1 win over Sweden. Spicing things up in Group B, each team now has one win and one loss in the preliminary round. Spreading out the offense, 12 different skaters recorded at least one point for Finland, while Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin netted the only goal for Sweden. In addition to lighting the lamp with the help of Mikkola and Luostarinen, Lundell added another highlight later in the game when he helped out his goaltender by making a goal-line save with his stick. Speaking of goaltending, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators was particularly strong for Finland, stopping 34 of 35 shots.

Panthers Stats

Finland

Anton Lundell: 1G, 0A, 1P, +2 +/-, 2S, 18:42 TOI

Eetu Luostarinen: 0G, 1A, 1P, +2 +/-, 0S, 19:51 TOI

Niko Mikkola: 0G, 1A, 0P, +2 +/-, 2S, 17:17 TOI

Sweden

Gustav Forsling: 0G, 0A, 0P, -1 +/-, 0S, 19:27 TOI

Slovakia 3, Italy 2

Despite a good fight from underdog host nation Italy, Slovakia held on for a 3-2 win and now lead Group B at 2-0-0-0. Former Calgary Flames forward Adam Ruzicka scored his second goal of the tournament, which ended up being the game-winner for Slovakia. For Italy, forward Matt Bradley, a former draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens back in 2015, lit the lamp in the second period on the power play for his second goal of the tournament. In net, Davide Fadani stopped 28 of 30 shots for Italy before being pulled midway through the third period for Anaheim Ducks prospect Damian Clara, who made eight saves in relief.

Czechia 6, France 3

Trailing 3-2 in the second period, Czechia got quite a scare from France, but ended up pulling away in the third period to lock in a 6-3 win. Matej Stransky, a forward currently playing in the Swiss league, scored the go-ahead goal for Czechia while shorthanded late in the second period after Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak had tied things back up and stopped the bleeding following three straight goals for France. Six different players lit the lamp in the win for Czechia, while Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek and Dallas Stars forward Radek Faksa each dished out two assists. Despite facing only 12 shots, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar surrendered three goals. In defeat, forward Louis Boudon, who spent last season in the ECHL before shifting to Liiga this season, put on a very impressive showing for France with three points (2G, 1A).

Canada 5, Switzerland 1

A pair of former Hart Trophy winners led the charge in a 5-1 win for Canada as Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid each notched a goal and two assists against an overmatched squad from Switzerland. Not slowing down, 19-year-old San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini scored in his second straight game and also tallied an assist for Canada. After backing up during the first game of the tournament, Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson made his Olympic debut and stopped 24 of 25 shots. St. Louis Blues forward Pius Suter scored the lone goals for Switzerland, which received 34 saves from Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid.

Panthers Stats

Canada

Sam Reinhart: 0G, 0A, 0P, 0 +/-, 1S, 13:21 TOI

Sam Bennett: 0G, 0A, 0P, 0 +/-, 3S, 10:33 TOI

Brad Marchand: Did not play

Group A Standings

1. Canada (2-0-0-0, 6P)
2. Switzerland (1-0-0-1, 3P)
3. Czechia (1-0-0-1, 3P)
4. France (0-0-0-2, 0P)

Group B Standings

1. Slovakia (2-0-0-0, 6P)
2. Finland (1-0-0-1, 3P)
3. Sweden (1-0-0-1, 3P)
4. Italy (0-0-0-2, 0P)

Group C Standings

1. United States (1-0-0-0, 3P)
2. Germany (1-0-0-0, 3P)
3. Denmark (0-0-0-1, 0P)
4. Latvia (0-0-0-1, 0P)

Schedule for Saturday, Feb. 14

Sweden vs. Slovakia, 6:10 a.m. ET (Peacock, SN)

- Sweden: Gustav Forsling, Myles Fee (coach)

Finland vs. Italy, 10:40 a.m. ET (Peacock, USA, SN, CBC)

- Finland: Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola, Tuomo Ruutu (coach)

Germany vs. Latvia, 6:10 a.m. ET (Peacock, CNBC, TSN)

- Latvia: Uvis Balinskis, Sandis Vilmanis

- Germany: Jamie Kompon (coach)

USA vs. Denmark, 3:10 p.m. ET (Peacock, USA, TSN)

- USA: Matthew Tkachuk, Bill Zito (staff), Teddy Richards (staff)