Unveiling the Olympic Hockey Landscape: Post-Preliminary Analysis for Avalanche Participants
The Avalanche's Olympic journey has been a rollercoaster, with each of their eight participants finding the back of the net in the preliminary rounds. But who would've thought that Cale Makar would be the last to score?
As we gear up for the knockout rounds, let's delve into the current standings for each of the Avs' participants and the Olympics as a whole.
Canada: Group A Champions
Canada dominated Group A, securing the top seed in the knockout stages. Their tournament began with a 5-0 shutout victory over Czechia, followed by a 5-1 win over Switzerland and a 10-2 thrashing of France, finishing 3-0 with a +17 goal differential.
Goalie Jordan Binnington started for Canada against Czechia and France, while Logan Thompson was in goal for the Switzerland game.
The Canadians will have a bye for the first round of knockouts and will face the winner of the game between No. 8 Czechia and No. 9 Denmark.
Nathan MacKinnon: 3 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 P (1 PPG)
Cale Makar: 3 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P (1 PPG)
Devon Toews: 3 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
USA: Group B Champions
The Americans also won their group after defeating Germany in the preliminary finale on Sunday. Nelson was a key offensive contributor in the opening game and remained a shutdown player as the games progressed.
They finished as the No. 2 seed, with Canada winning the tiebreaker on goal differential (17-11).
The winner of the game between No. 7 Sweden and No. 10 Latvia will advance to a matchup against the USA.
Brock Nelson: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
Finland: Second Place in Group B
Finland had a brief scare at the start of the tournament after losing to Slovakia. But they bounced back with a crucial win against rival Sweden before defeating France 11-0 to secure second place in Group B. Slovakia won the group, but Finland’s goal differential helped them secure a better opponent in the qualifying playoff.
They finished the preliminaries as the No. 4 seed, behind the three group winners, securing the final bye to the round of eight. Finland will play the winner of the game between No. 5 Switzerland and No. 12 Italy.
Artturi Lehkonen: 3 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
Joel Kiviranta: 2 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 P
Sweden: Disappointing Performance
Gabe Landeskog and his team are having a disappointing tournament to date. Much of it stems from coaching decisions by head coach Sam Hallam.
Sweden finished third in their group behind both Slovakia and Finland. They could’ve won the group had it not been for a last-minute goal from the Slovaks in a game that Sweden won 5-3.
As a result of finishing third in their group, the Swedes will face No. 10 Latvia, with the winner advancing to a matchup against Team USA.
Gabriel Landeskog: 3 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 P (1 PPG)
Czechia: Third Place in Group A
Like Sweden, the Czechs were disappointed with their preliminary-round finish. After falling to Switzerland in OT in the third of their three games, Czechia secured the third seed in Group A and a preliminary knockout-round matchup against No. 9 Denmark. The winner will play Canada.
Martin Necas: 3 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 P (1 PPG)
Full Knockout Round Bracket
The full knockout round bracket for the 2026 Olympic Men's Hockey Playoff is as follows:
Quarterfinals on Wed. Feb. 18:
1. CAN 🇨🇦 vs. Winner of CZE 🇨🇿/ DEN 🇩🇰
2. USA 🇺🇸 vs. Winner of SWE 🇸🇪 / LAT 🇱🇻
3. SVK 🇸🇰 vs. Winner of GER 🇩🇪 / FRA 🇫🇷
4. FIN 🇫🇮 vs. Winner of SUI 🇨🇭 / ITA 🇮🇹
Semifinals (Feb. 20) then re-seed based on these standings:...
