5 things learned from Day 5 of Olympics

MILAN -- The preliminary round of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 concluded Sunday with four games.

Team Switzerland needed overtime to top Team Czechia, 4-3, Team Canada beat Team France, 10-2, Team Denmark topped Team Latvia, 4-2, and Team USA beat Team Germany, 5-1.

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

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

Now the fun really starts

With the preliminary round over, the matchups for the single-elimination qualification playoff games on Tuesday are set. Switzerland (5) will play Italy (12), Germany (6) will play France (11), Sweden (7) will play Latvia (10), and (8) Czechia will play Denmark (9). Looking even further ahead, one potential quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday is Sweden vs. the United States, which is ranked second. But after a day void of games on Monday, the action picks up on Tuesday and it’s going to be a blast.

The U.S. keeps getting better

There were times in the United States’ first two games of the preliminary round where it looked disjointed and out of sync. That was not the case Sunday, when the U.S. looked in control from start to finish against Germany. With the Group C title and a bye into the quarterfinals on the line, the U.S. controlled Germany pretty much from start to finish. Team USA captain Auston Matthews had a strong game with two goals and an assist. Next up, the quarterfinals and a possible matchup with Sweden. “I think we understand it’s do-or-die now, and we’re going to rise to the occasion with who we play,” forward Jack Eichel said. “We’ll be better and I assume it will be our most competitive game yet.”

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: USA-GERMANY

Hey, Mr. Wilson

There are several reasons forward Tom Wilson is on the Team Canada roster, and they were all on display Sunday. One is that he knows how to play with elite players — being a teammate of Alex Ovechkin with the Washington Capitals will do that. He’s also no slouch on offense, tallying a goal and an assist on Sunday, and he’s also one of the most physical players in the League. After Team France’s Pierre Crinon leveled Canadian forward Nathan MacKinnon in the third period, the defenseman then had to answer to Wilson a few minutes later. It was classic Wilson and showed just how tight Team Canada is. “It’s the Canadian way, it’s what we do,” defenseman Devon Toews said.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: CANADA-FRANCE

Swiss do it for Fiala

Team Switzerland had its mantra entering their 4-3 overtime win against Team Czechia on Sunday: get this one for Kevin Fiala. The forward was stretchered off the ice during the Swiss’ 5-1 loss to Team Canada on Friday and was ruled out for the rest of the Olympics, as well as the remainder of the NHL season. It could’ve been a big blow to the Swiss, but they persevered and pulled out the win courtesy of defenseman Dean Kukan’s game-winner at 1:49 of overtime. “He’s (Fiala) a great guy, great teammate. He’s a guy you want to be around and, you know, a lot of guys grew up with him playing and especially me, I played with him in Juniors,” Swiss defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler said. “He’s just a loving guy and he’s always in a good mood. I think he’s a big part and it wasn’t easy for us to see him going down like that. But you know, at the end we’re a team, we’re a family and we do it for each other.”

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: SWITZERLAND-CZECHIA

A bridge too far for Latvia

Team Latvia could not sustain the momentum from upsetting Team Germany a day earlier. Latvia (1-0-2-0) had a chance to finish second in Group C with a win against Team Denmark (1-0-2-0). Instead, it lost 4-2 at RHO Arena on Sunday, dropping into fourth place and an unfavorable qualification round matchup against Team Sweden on Tuesday. The effort in beating the Germans 4-3 on Saturday took its toll the next day. Latvia fell behind 3-1 in the first period and couldn’t claw all the way back. “It’s always hard to play back-to-back games and we gave a lot yesterday," Latvian goalie Arturs Silovs, who finished with 17 saves, said. “I don’t think it was us in the first period, at least the first 15 [minutes], and it cost us the game. We have to tighten up the first period, play with the right mindset and play our structure.” Despite the rough start, Latvia fought to the end. They hit a post with three shots in the third period alone and pulled Silovs, with the ensuing empty-net goal allowing Denmark to pass them for third because of the goal differential tiebreaker. “We wanted it, but there are a couple of bounces that go their way, and we are down 3-0," Latvian captain Kaspars Daugavins said. “We kept fighting. We almost came back, but almost doesn’t count.”

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: DENMARK-LATVIA