2026 Milano Cortina Olympics On Tap: Semifinals being played Friday

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 have begun. The men’s hockey tournament, the first with NHL players since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, has reached the semifinals and will conclude with the gold medal game Sunday.

Here is a look at the games Friday:

(1) Team Canada vs. (4) Team Finland (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, RDS2, CBC)

How they got here

Canada (3-1-0-0, first in Group A): Defeated Team Czechia 5-0, defeated Team Switzerland 5-1, defeated Team France 10-2, defeated Team Czechia 4-3 (OT).

Finland (2-1-1-0, second in Group B): Lost to Team Slovakia 4-1, defeated Team Sweden 4-1, defeated Team Italy 11-0, defeated Team Switzerland 3-2 (OT).

Player to watch

Canada: Macklin Celebrini leads the tournament with five goals after he had a goal and two assists against Czechia on Wednesday. He became the fourth player to score a goal in four straight Olympic games involving NHL players (Marian Hossa, Slovakia, and Teemu Selanne, Finland, in 2006; Mats Sundin, Sweden, in 2002). The 19-year-old forward has 81 points (28 goals, 53 assists) in 55 games with the San Jose Sharks.

Finland: Juuse Saros has a 1.49 goals-against average and .938 save percentage and has stopped 91 of 97 shots. He is 21-17-5 in 44 games (44 starts) with the Nashville Predators with a 3.20 GAA and .892 save percentage.

Will win if

Canada: If its star-laden lineup scores early and establishes its dominance to sap the confidence Finland will have entering the game after its dramatic 3-2 overtime win against Switzerland on Wednesday and Jordan Binnington continues to make game-deciding saves like his stop on Czechia’s Martin Necas on a breakaway with the game tied 3-3 late in the third period Wednesday.

Finland: Saros continues his strong performance, and the Finns play a complete game with the urgency that it showed in the third period to overcome a two-goal deficit against Switzerland to win in overtime. Team Finland needs to score early to have a chance against the Canadians.

EDGE Stats to watch

Canada has the top two players in the entire NHL in terms of both midrange goals (Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado Avalanche is first with 16; Celebrini is second with 15) and midrange shots on goal (MacKinnon is first with 110; Celebrini is second with 101) this season.

The skinny

Team Canada is loaded offensively and Binnington has positively answered the pre-Olympics questions about its goaltending, but the game isn’t a slam dunk. Finland has a chance, but it will need more offense from its stars and for Saros to play his best game of the tournament if it hopes to reach the gold medal game.

(3) Team Slovakia vs. (2) Team United States (3:10 p.m. ET; NBC, Peacock ICI Tele, CBC Gem, RDS2)

How they got there

Slovakia: (3-0-1-0, first in Group B): Defeated Team Finland 4-1, defeated Team Italy 3-2, lost to Team Sweden 5-3, defeated Team Germany 6-2.

Team United States: (3-1-0-0, first in Group C): Defeated Team Latvia 5-1, defeated Team Denmark 6-3, defeated Team Germany 5-1, defeated Team Sweden 2-1 (OT).

Player to watch

Slovakia: Juraj Slafkovsky has seven points (three goals, four assists) in four games at the Olympics, powering Slovakia to first place in Group B. Selected by the Montreal Canadiens with the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old forward has 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games this season.

United States: Quinn Hughes scored the game-winner in the 2-1 overtime victory against Team Sweden and has six points (one goal, five assists) in four games. The Minnesota Wild defenseman has had at least one assist in each of the four games, the longest run by an American player at an Olympics with NHL participation. He also tied Nicklas Lidstrom of Sweden (four in 2002) for the longest assist streak by a defenseman in an Olympics with NHL players. He has 57 points (five goals, 52 assists) in 52 NHL games this season.

Will win if

Slovakia: It continues to play team hockey. Slafkovsky is the star, but Slovakia has had a balanced attack with 12 players registering at least one point against Germany on Wednesday, including two goals and an assist from Pavol Regenda. They will also need to maintain their suffocating defense, if not ratchet it up even further.

United States: Connor Hellebuyck repeats his performance from Wednesday. The U.S. has too many offensive weapons to stop, but patience will be a key. Slovakia’s relentless approach is built to frustrate and lead opponents into mistakes. The U.S. defense is strong and deep to contain Slafkovsky.

EDGE Stats to watch

Hughes leads defensemen and is second in the entire NHL in total skating distance (215.22 miles) this season behind forward Connor McDavid (234.49). Hughes also ranks third among defensemen in midrange shots on goal (52) and is sixth at his position in 20-plus mph speed bursts (113).

The skinny

The United States survived a close one against Sweden and should expect a tough battle against a resilient Team Slovakia, which has shown an ability to pressure and frustrate some of the NHL’s top scorers during the tournament. But the U.S. should have too much firepower and Hellebuyck (2-1-0-0; 0.98 GAA, .958 save percentage in three starts) should be too stingy in goal for Slovakia to overcome.