Pettersson scores twice, Team Sweden defeats Slovakia

MILAN -- Team Sweden won and lost against Team Slovakia in Group B play at the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at Santagiulia Arena on Saturday.

The Swedes won the game 5-3, thanks in part to two goals from Elias Pettersson and a goal and two assists from Lucas Raymond. Jacob Markstrom made 29 saves for Sweden (2-0-0-1) in his first start of the tournament.

That was the victory.

But the loss came later when Team Finland -- Sweden’s fiercest rival -- won 11-0 against Team Italy, meaning three teams in the group each finished with six points and Slovakia (2-0-0-1) earned the bye because it had the best goal differential in the games involving those three teams.

A last-minute goal by Slovakian forward Dalibor Dvorsky with 39 seconds left in the third period, altered the goal-differential picture in Slovakia’s favor.

“Super happy,” said Dvorsky, who plays for the St. Louis Blues. “Hopefully the goal gets us first place, but let’s see how Finland plays.”

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Sweden-Slovakia

Finland played immaculately and finished second in the group, dooming Sweden to third and a spot in the qualification round Tuesday. Slovakia advances to the quarterfinals Wednesday.

“Obviously, it’s unfortunate; I thought we played a good game,” Pettersson said. “But we put ourselves in this situation. Whether we play in two or three days, we will be ready for it.”

Raymond had given Sweden a 5-2 lead at 11:38 of the third on a beautiful individual effort.

As Dvorsky’s shot crossed the goal line, Slovakian forward Juraj Slafkovsky started jumping up and down as if his team had won the game.

“What a game!” said Slafkovsky, who scored for the third straight game and had an assist. “I’ve never celebrated a loss.”

Martin Gernat also had a goal and an assist for Slovakia, and Samuel Hlavaj made 46 saves.

But the final minutes were all that mattered in the end.

After the Dvorsky goal, the Swedes pulled Markstrom with a two-goal lead, looking to get back the goal it had surrendered.

It couldn’t.

Suddenly a statement win felt like a loss.

“They score a goal, we win the game, but it kind of doesn’t feel like it right now,” Swedish forward Marcus Johansson said.

For the Swedes, it became an exercise in trying to look at the bright side. Their game was far better than 24 hours earlier, when they lost 4-1 to rival Finland.

However, because of a late fit of pique by Raymond, who took a slashing penalty with 2:38 remaining to pave the way for Dvorsky’s heroics, they were forced to come to grips with the ambiguity they invited into their lives.

“Hockey is not a straight-forward sport,” Sweden defenseman Victor Hedman said. “We will take whatever card we are dealt going into the next game. You have to embrace the opportunity to play in the Olympics.”

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Sweden coach Sam Halam was even more blunt.

“Our results have to talk for themselves,” he said. “I think one goal with 35, 40 seconds left in the game, if it is from first place to third place in the group, it is what it is. Just look ahead. Everything that is really good never comes easy.”

Good things came for Sweden throughout the game -- until the last minute.

Pettersson scored to make it 4-2 at 7:57 of the third with a one-timer off a beautiful cross-crease pass from Raymond.

He had given Sweden a 3-2 lead at 14:29 of the second period after a nice pass from Filip Forsberg.

“I love his speed through neutral zone when he scores his first one, great play by Forsberg,” Halam said. “He plays with a good conscience, does the right thing. Finishes checks. He plays the right way tactically.”

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 for Slovakia at 8:59 of the first period, 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.

Slafkovsky has six points (three goals, three assists) in three games here. He is tied for the tournament scoring lead with Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid of Team Canada, who leads the NHL with 96 points (34 goals, 62 assists).

Slafkovsky, who has 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games for Montreal, is the fourth player to have five or more points for Slovakia in the preliminary round of an Olympics with NHL involvement, joining Marian Hossa (nine points), Pavol Demitra (seven) and Marian Gaborik (six). Each happened during the five-game round robin in 2006.

“I’m lucky to be there and [McDavid] deserves it,” Slafkovsky said, laughing.

Adrian 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.

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