.png?w=1280 "Winners and Losers of Olympics Quarterfinals")
Winners and Losers of the 2026 Men's Hockey Olympics Tournament Quarterfinals
If the Olympic men's hockey tournament was making you feel like you were waiting for something fun to happen, the quarterfinals brought the thunder and then some.
Three of the four quarterfinal matchups were decided in overtime, and the one that wasn't featured the most surprising team of the tournament, Slovakia.
In the end, the top four seeds each advanced and will duke it out on Friday to see who will play for the gold medal on Sunday, closing out the Olympic Games in Milano Cortina.
Finland, Canada, and the United States all had to sweat out and earn their way to the semifinals while Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and Czechia walked away empty-handed.
Beyond the obvious winners and losers, things go a bit deeper than that all around. We'll dig into those who are looking up and those who have their heads down as we move closer to the finish line.
Winners: Front-Runners
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Although the preliminary round flew by, with each team playing three games against its group rivals, it proved vital to be one of the top teams in that opening round.
The three group winners and the top non-group winner each got a bye to the quarterfinals, and all of those teams—Canada, Finland, Slovakia, and the United States—advanced to the semifinals.
It might seem like logic that getting to play one fewer game in a short, condensed tournament would allow for a greater chance of success, but the Olympics are known for surprises, and the only thing that proved to be a surprise this time was how hard it was for the favorites to get through to the semis.
All that said, it proved worthwhile for teams to win their group because it provided a legitimate advantage. In Finland's case, piling up enough goals and success in the preliminary round earned them a free pass to the quarters.
Doing enough can also work out well, too, but not having to play a playoff game the day before provided a massive advantage.
Losers: Sweden
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The razor's edge in which games and seeding can be decided in the Olympics is genuinely incredible, and no one felt that harder than Sweden.
The Swedes were a goal away from being able to get a free pass to the quarterfinals since they were tied in the standings with Finland and Slovakia, but they allowed a goal in the final minute of their 5-3 win over Slovakia to Dalibor Dvorsky that made their goal differential equal to Slovakia's and instead of winning Group B, Slovakia took it because Finland was able to draw even with them after beating Italy.
Sure, Sweden's loss to Finland proved costly, but allowing a final minute goal to the Slovaks forced them into a playoff game against Latvia instead of getting a day off. Playing the United States in the quarterfinals on the second of back-to-back days and running with Jacob Markström in both games made coach Sam Hallam's decision a fascinating one, but Markström gave them everything he had in a 2-1 overtime loss with 37 saves.
Sweden got out of the gates in the tournament slowly and even though they played their best games in the tournament in the knockout round, their inability to find cohesion sooner cost them. They were the group favorite and a gold medal favorite as well and wound up in third place and then completely out of the medals. Brutal.
Winners: Slovakia
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A fun fact about Slovakia is that they're the bronze medalists from the 2022 Winter Olympics. Obviously, that tournament was vastly different from this year's, but the Slovaks are out to prove a point and are feeding off anyone who takes them lightly.
Slovakia wound up in what was essentially a "group of death" with Sweden, Finland, and Italy. And while the Italians provided wins for everyone, it was Slovakia who came away with the Group B victory and a bye to the quarterfinals.
With Juraj Slafkovský, Dalibor Dvorsky, Pavol Regenda, and Martin Gernat leading the way offensively and Samuel Hlavaj holding things down in goal, Slovakia is proving to be not only one of the toughest teams but also one of the most successful.
While the other three semifinal teams had to sweat out wins, Slovakia disposed of Germany with ease, 6-2, in the quarters and now face the United States for the opportunity to go for the gold medal.
Slovakia will be the underdogs again, and, coincidentally, it knocked out the U.S. four years ago in a shootout in the quarterfinals. The rosters will be much different this time around, but if Team USA takes Slovakia lightly, this Cinderella story might keep on keeping on.
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Winners With Trepidation: Canada
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The most impressive team in the Olympics has easily been Canada, yet it's also the side that always seems to be on the precipice of a monumental breakdown.
Whether it's the enormous pressure on them to win gold again because of their star-studded lineup, the Sword of Damocles-style goaltending Jordan Binnington has provided throughout the Games, or watching Sidney Crosby leave the quarterfinal against Czechia with an injury, Team Canada always has drama following it.
Canada lived that life all over again in 60-plus minutes against Czechia. Despite beating Czechia in the preliminary round 5-0, the Canadians trailed 2-1 after the first period and were down 3-2 with under eight minutes to play in the third period before Nick Suzuki tied it with 3:27 to go.
Mitch Marner's winner 1:22 into overtime allowed for a massive sigh of relief, but with a semifinal matchup with Finland up next and the possibility of not having Crosby after he was injured in a play involving Radko Gudas, it still feels like there's a vice grip around them to win or else.
That's what life is like as a favorite, but the threat of failure lurks around Canada even when it's been dominant otherwise.
Loser Despite Success: Jordan Binnington
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This is a dated reference, but Canada goalie Jordan Binnington has to feel like Rodney Dangerfield. All he does for the team is win games and make big saves in massive moments, yet fans continue to call for another goalie to calm things down in net and make life easier.
The thing about hockey is that even with a team as loaded with talent as Canada is, easy games against other strong teams just don't happen. The Czechs threw everything they had at Canada and nearly came away with what would've been a shocking upset. In key moments, though, there was Binnington making a save that would've turned the game on its head.
Case in point, Martin Nečas had a breakaway in which he tried to slip the puck five-hole on Binnington, only to be turned aside. If Nečas scores, all we'd be talking about is how staggering it was that Czechia upset Canada. Instead, it was just another moment when Binnington handled his business and kept the game going, allowing Canada to go on to win.
It's what the netminder did throughout the 4 Nations Face-Off in leading Canada to the title there, and he's done it again.
Does he make it look easy? Absolutely not, and there are plenty of reasons to poke a hole in the floor if you're a Canada fan. However, he's doing enough to get the job done.
The Canadians have more than enough talent to win games without needing the goalie to win it for them, and Binnington has done nothing but help deliver the outcome they've sought.
Winner: Connor Hellebuyck
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It hasn't been the easiest season for Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg. He hasn't been up to his usual Vezina Trophy-winning standards, and he's even had to miss time for surgery.
The Jets are struggling, and some of that falls on his shoulders, but he's been outstanding at the Winter Games.
Hellebuyck has played three games in the Olympics and allowed three goals total. He's allowed one goal in each of his starts, and the one goal he allowed to Sweden came with 1:31 left in the third period when Mika Zibanejad was able to tie the game.
Beating Latvia and Germany is one thing, but shutting down Sweden with 28 saves and holding the door as the pressure ramped up late in the game and in overtime, while his Team USA teammates struggled to beat Jacob Markström, helped ensure they'd be able to have a chance to play for a medal and a possible shot at gold.
Hellebuyck didn't always look like himself at the Four Nations, and we all remember how much he fought the puck early in the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, but with the way he's played throughout the Olympics, there's reason for Team USA to be confident.
Losers: Switzerland
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Last summer, Switzerland was a goal away from winning gold at World Championships before Tage Thompson broke their hearts in overtime for the United States. As hard as that was to go through, the way they lost to Finland in the quarterfinals was truly brutal.
Switzerland took a 2-0 lead into the final 10 minutes of the third period. Damien Riat and Nino Niederreiter scored in the first period and the staunch defensive system the Swiss employ had them poised to move onto the semifinals.
But Sebastian Aho made it 2-1 with 6:06 to play in the third and Miro Heiskanen tied it with Juuse Saros pulled for the extra attacker with 1:12 to play and sent the game to overtime.
Artturi Lehkonen gave Finland the win and a date with Canada in the semifinals 3:23 into the extra period.
A 2-0 lead is never a guarantee, but that kind of advantage should have had Switzerland in the driver's seat. Yes, the Swiss were without Kevin Fiala whose injury in the preliminary round knocked him out, but they aren't massive underdogs anymore.
They're a known quantity and while they're not as deep as other top countries in the Olympics, they're still very good. A loss like that is a bitter pill to swallow for the second time in less than a calendar year.
Winner: Quinn Hughes
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Ever since Quinn Hughes landed with the Minnesota Wild, we've been able to see more of what makes him one of the best players in the NHL.
And with the way he's dominated throughout the Olympics, he's proving why he's one of the best in the world.
Hughes' overtime goal against Sweden was a perfect shot from an elite player. While the goal gets all of the attention, it's his overall play shift in and shift out that makes Team USA's ability to attack so dangerous.
His ownership of the puck when he's on the ice puts the game in his hands. While he's been elite at setting up teammates through the Olympics with five assists, his winning goal in Wednesday's quarterfinal shows how he's the total package from the blue line.
The pace of play he pushes, the creativity with the puck, his vision to make passes that few others can, and then a shot that's perfect, help highlight how huge his absence was for the U.S. at the Four Nations and how vital he is to its hopes of Olympic gold.
Loser Even Though It's a Winner: 3-on-3 Overtime
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We love seeing games being won in regulation or overtime. Shootouts are agony in the NHL, and they're excruciatingly stressful in the Olympics, but after seeing three 3-on-3 overtime games in the quarterfinals, we're left wondering why it can't be 5-on-5 in the knockout rounds.
The Olympics mean everything to the players, and having games come down to 3-on-3 hockey for 10 minutes is exhilarating, exciting, and heart-attack-inducing for fans of the teams involved. The breakneck pace of 3-on-3 puts every game on the edge and, perhaps most importantly, it virtually guarantees we'll see a winner before a shootout is even threatened.
We love seeing games won in actual hockey; we just wish we didn't have to see it in 3-on-3. It would be heartbreaking to see a team miss out on a chance at a medal because of a shootout, and that threat of it happening still exists in the semifinals, but if we have to choose between shootouts or extended 3-on-3 overtime, we're picking 3-on-3 every time, begrudgingly.
But that's the point, right? To get a winner in the flow of play. We'd love for all overtimes to be 5-on-5 like the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but asking for that throughout the Olympic tournament would be asking a lot in a short tournament.
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