* Panthers trio Anton Lundell,Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola combined to help Team Finland defeat rival Team Sweden in an Olympics with NHL participation for the first time since 1998.
* Oilers captain Connor McDavid joined Teemu Selanne with a rare Olympic feat as he recorded his second straight three-point performance to help Team Canada skate to its 12th consecutive win in Olympics involving NHL players.
* Team Germany and Team USA will look to maintain their perfect starts during Group C round robin games Saturday.
TEAM FINLAND VICTORIOUS IN RIVALRY GAME VERSUS TEAM SWEDEN
Team Finland jumped out to a 2-0 lead through the first period on goals by Senators defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo as well as Panthers forward Anton Lundell and held onto their edge for the remainder of the game in a 4-1 victory over rival Team Sweden. NHLers accounted for every player dressed in the Finland-Sweden game, which marked the first all-NHL player vs. all-NHL player matchup of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
* Team Finland earned their first victory over Team Sweden in Olympics with NHL players since a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals of the first-ever Olympics with NHL participation (1998). Team Finland had previously fallen to their rivals in the 2006 Playoff Round (SWE: 3-2), 2010 Round Robin (SWE: 3-0) and 2014 Playoff Round (SWE: 2-1).
* A trio of two-time Stanley Cup-winning Finns from the Panthers teamed up on the winning goal, scored by Lundell with assists to Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola. Team Finland’s roster has combined to win the Stanley Cup 11 times, the second most of any nation in the tournament behind Team Canada (21).
* The duo of Lundell and Luostarinen play together often in Florida and have combined on 40 NHL regular-season goals as well as 17 playoff tallies. The pair teamed up to factor on another high-profile game-winning goal, both earning assists on Matthew Tkachuk’s Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.
McDAVID POWERS TEAM CANADA TO VICTORY WITH ANOTHER THREE-POINT OUTING
Connor McDavid (1-2—3) posted his second three-point outing in as many games while Sidney Crosby (1-0—1) added to his lofty Olympic career totals as Team Canada skated to its second straight win to begin the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Team Canada has earned 12 consecutive victories at Olympics involving NHL players dating to Feb. 23, 2010.
* McDavid became the third Team Canada skater to record multiple three-point games in Olympics involving NHLers, joining Jarome Iginla (Feb. 16, 2010 & Feb. 24, 2002) and Joe Sakic (Feb. 24, 2002 & Feb. 16, 1998). The Oilers captain (1-5—6) also surpassed Marian Hossa (2-3—5 in 2006 w/ SVK) and Teemu Selanne (4-1—5 in 2006 w/ FIN) for the most points through their team’s first two games of an Olympic tournament with NHL participation.
* Crosby scored his first goal of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and his fifth in the Olympics overall, which is tied with Shea Weber (5-7—12 in 13 GP) for the fourth most by a Team Canada player in Olympics with NHL participation behind Iginla (10-4—14 in 19 GP), Dany Heatley (6-4—10 in 13 GP) and Sakic (6-7—13 in 16 GP). In the process, the Penguins captain also tied Weber for the third-most points by a Team Canada skater in Olympics with NHL players, trailing only Iginla and Sakic.
* It wasn’t just veterans finding the score sheet for Canada – 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini became the third teenager to score a goal in consecutive games in Olympics involving NHL players, joining Olli Määttä (2 GP in 2014 w/ FIN) and Evgeni Malkin (2 GP in 2006 w/ RUS). The Sharks forward also became the third teenager to score multiple goals in a single Olympic tournament involving NHL players, following Määttä (3 in 2014 w/ FIN) and Malkin (2 in 2006 w/ RUS).
CZECH NHL PLAYERS HELP LIFT COUNTRY TO COMEBACK WIN
After Avalanche forward Martin Necas (1-1—2) opened the scoring for Team Czechia, Team France responded with three goals of their own, but Bruins forward David Pastrnak (1-1—2) evened the score with the first of four straight Czech tallies to lift the country to its third comeback win in Olympics involving NHL players (also Feb. 15, 2006 & Feb. 18, 1998). It marked just the third time Czechia has scored six goals in an Olympic game featuring NHL players, following Feb. 15, 2002 (8 vs. GER) and Feb. 15, 1998 (8 vs. KAZ).
* Necas, along with Canucks forward David Kampf, assisted on the first of two Czech goals in a span of 48 seconds in the third period, which marked the country’s third-fastest two tallies in an Olympic game involving NHL players following Feb. 18, 2014 (0:29) and Feb. 24, 2006 (0:45).
* Necas and Pastrnak were two of four Czech NHL players to pick up two points against France, marking the second time Czechia has had at least that many record multiple points in an Olympic game involving NHL players, following Feb. 15, 2002. The other two were Stars forward Radek Faksa (0-2—2) and Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek (0-2—2), who helped set up Czechia’s fifth shorthanded goal in Olympics with NHL player participation.
TEAM SLOVAKIA OUTLASTS HOSTS, REMAIN UNDEFEATED
In a close contest that saw host Team Italy score with the goaltender pulled in the final five minutes of regulation to move within a goal, Team Slovakia held on to win for the second time in as many games and opened an Olympics with NHL participation with consecutive wins for the second time. In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Slovakia won each of their first five games in the round robin portion of the schedule before falling to Team Czechia in the playoff round.
OLYMPICS STATS LINKS
* 2026 Statistics: Skaters / Goaltenders
* 2026 Rosters (and Statistics)
* 2026 Format and Results
QUICK CLICKS
* Denmark ‘really looking forward to’ best-on-best test vs. U.S. in Olympics
* Anton Lundell coming through in clutch for Finland in Olympics
* Hughes brothers step up with ‘pretty special’ Olympic debut for U.S.
* Frederik Andersen won’t start for Denmark against U.S. in Olympic preliminary round
* NHL EDGE stats: United States utilizing Tage Thompson, Quinn Hughes at Olympics
NHL STARS LOOK TO HELP TEAM GERMANY, TEAM USA MAINTAIN PERFECT STARTS
Team Germany and Team USA will both look to improve to 2-0-0-0 and maintain their perfect starts at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 during Group C round robin games Saturday.
* Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and Senators forward Tim Stützle, who posted two points apiece in Team Germany’s opening game of the tournament, can each achieve notable feats with another multi-point outing against Team Latvia. Stützle can become the first German skater to score multiple goals in consecutive games at an Olympic tournament involving NHL players, while Draisaitl can follow in the footsteps of his father, Peter Draisaitl.
* Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes was one of five players to record multiple points in Team USA’s opening victory Thursday and can join Brian Rafalski (2 GP from Feb. 18-21, 2010) as the second American blueliner to record two straight multi-point games at an Olympics involving NHL players. Meanwhile, Avalanche forward Brock Nelson can become the third player to record two straight multi-goal games for any nation, alongside Rafalski and Teemu Selanne (2 GP from Feb. 15-16, 2006 w/ FIN).
