Olympic Hockey Day 3 Recap: Canada Clinches First, Slovakia Stay Undefeated, Finland and Czechia Notch First Wins

The show continued as an action-packed Olympic schedule featured one of the best hockey rivalries, plenty of scoring, and more hits from Connor McDavid. In the morning game, Finland bested Sweden with a standout performance from goalie Juuse Saros. Simultaneously, Slovakia advanced to 2-0 with a hard-fought victory against Italy. Czechia found their first win after scoring four consecutive goals to defeat France. Canada also advanced to 2-0 with a high-scoring victory over Switzerland.

Finland vs. Sweden

• Finland kicked off the scoring with a goal about seven minutes into the opening period. Defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo was able to jump on a loose puck and ripped it past the blocker side of Filip Gustavsson to give his team a 1-0 lead over Sweden.

• The scoring wasn't over for Finland as Anton Lundell scored the second goal of the game. Lundell chipped in the puck off a shot from Eetu Luostarinen. The puck bounced up into the air off the initial shot, but Lundell followed the puck and tapped it in to give Finland a 2-0 lead, which they took into the first intermission. The play was reviewed to see if the puck was knocked in with a high stick, but the goal stood.
• Rasmus Dahlin opened the score for Sweden five minutes into the second period with a power play goal. William Nylander from down low made a pass towards the point where Dahlin's one-timer made it past Juuse Saros to cut Finland's lead to 2-1.
• Later in the period, Sweden got another power play opportunity and a chance to tie the game up. Instead, they gave up a shorthanded goal. The two sides were battling for the puck in the corner of Sweden's defensive zone before Erik Haula got the puck out to Joel Armia, who put a nice move on Gustavsson and extended Finland's lead to 3-1.

• Team Finland defenseman Nikola Mikola exited the game in the back half of the third period. Mikola was seen limping as he walked to the locker room after blocking a shot with his leg.
• As time wound down in the third, Mikeul Granlended ended the game, putting away the empty net goal. This extended their lead to 4-1, which ended up being the final score of the game, as both teams now have a 1-1 record at the tournament.

Italy vs. Slovakia

• Team Italy goaltender Damian Clara, who recorded 46 saves before exiting with an injury, dressed but did not get the start in net. Davide Fadani, who came in relief for Clara against Sweden, got the start.
• The two teams who surprised many on day one of the tournament were scoreless after the first period. Slovakia had outshot Italy 13-8 in the first, but strong goaltending performances kept the game tied.
• Slovakia opened up the scoring on a power play goal in the second period. While on the man advantage, Juraj Slafkovský had the puck near the blue line before he dished it to Libor Hudacek, who was waiting on Fadani's right. Hudacek then attempted to make a pass across the crease to Tomas Tatar, but the puck bounced off a defender and bounced into the net to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead.
• Nearly ten minutes later, Slovakia extended their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Matus Sukel. Adam Liska carried into the offensive zone and got the initial shot before Sukel came and cleaned up the puck on the rebound. While the two teams played at a similar level in the first period, Slovakia's play improved greatly in the second period.
• Right as the game started to look out of reach, Italy scored their first goal of the game on a man-advantage chance. Italy moved the puck well before a one-timer from Phil Pietroniro rang the post. Matthew Bradley bounced on the loose puck and scored on the open net, which cut Slovakia's lead to 2-1.
• With 10:10 left in the third period, Italy made a goaltender change as Fadani exited the game, as he appeared to be banged up. Damian Clara entered the game and went on to finish it out after starting on the bench.
• Shortly after the goaltender change, Slovakia scored on Clara and extended their lead to 3-1. Adam Ruzicka found his second goal of the tournament, which cushioned Slovakia's lead as time wound down in the third.
• With the tender pulled, Team Italy was able to cut their deficit to one with 3:35 remaining in regulation. Dustin Gazley found his second point of the day as his shot took a lucky bounce and beat Samuel Hlavaj to cut Slovakia's lead to 3-2. With few believers entering the tournament, Italy had garnered the respect of many through two games.
• Italy once again called Clara to the bench to get the extra skater on the ice, but this time they did not get as lucky. They did not give up the empty net goal, but they did receive a delay of game penalty, which crushed their chances of sending the game to overtime.
• The game ended with Slovakia winning 3-2 as they advance to a record of 2-0 while Italy falls to 0-2.

France vs. Czechia

• A significant change for Team Czechia in their game against France was the switch in goaltenders. In their first game against Canada, Lukas Dostal was in net, but he did not dress against France, and Dan Vladar got the start.
• Czechia's two stars teamed up on the power play to deliver the first goal of the game and establish a 1-0 lead. David Pastrnak made a nice cross-ice feed to Martin Necas, whose shot beat Martin Neckar. Neckar got a stick on the puck but ended up knocking it into the net since his skate and pads were not in the right spot.
• A little over 13 minutes into the first period, Czechia added to their lead thanks to a goal from defenseman Michal Kempny. Kempny's shot made it through traffic and hit the pipe before bouncing into the back of the net, guiding Czechia to lead 2-0.
• After one period of play, it was clear these two teams were on different levels. On top of their two goal lead, Czechia out shot France 15-3 and controlled play.
• 1:01 into the second period, France found their first goal of the day cutting Czechia's lead to 2-1. Vladar was without his stick which helped Louis Boudon to sneak it past the Czechian net minder.
• Boudon and France kept the heat on, tying the game at 2-2 off an off-man rush. Boudon made a nice play in the defensive zone, deflecting a pass, which Charles Bertland pounced on before feeding it back to his teammate, who beat Vladar for the second time in the game.
• France, with the momentum on their side, scored their third goal in five minutes thanks to Hugo Gallet. Boudon was involved in the play, getting the assist, which gave him three points up to that point in the game. After starting with a 2-0, Czechia found themselves trailing 3-2.
• After giving up three unanswered, Pastrnak answered the call for Czechia and tied the game at 3-3. Ondrej Palat was able to pass the puck to Pastrnak, who was waiting behind the net. Pastranak then found a sliver of space between Neckar and the pipe, which he fit the puck into.
• A penalty from Dominik Kubalik sent France to the power play, and with a chance to take the lead back, they gave up a shorthanded goal, which gave Czechia a 4-3 lead. While France was in the middle of a change, Filip Hronek made a stretch pass to Radek Faksa, which set up a two-on-zero, leaving the French goalie all alone. Faska and Matej Stransky passed the puck back and forth before Stransky scored the go-ahead goal.
• Just over a minute into the third period, Czechia extended their lead to 5-3. Necas took the initial shot and Neckar made the initial save with his blocker but Filip Chlapik shot the puck into the back of the net of the rebound.
• Less than a minute later, Czechia poured in another goal off a breakaway from captain Roman Cervenka, whose backhander fit perfectly into the top right corner of the net. Following the goal, France made a goaltender change, putting in Julian Junca as they trailed 6-3.
• Despite the cluster of scores that started the period, the game ended 6-3 in favor of Czechia. Czechia found their first win of the tournament, while France fell to 0-2.

Canada vs. Switzerland

• The main changes Team Canada made ahead of their matchup against Switzerland were that Brad Marchand and Josh Morrissey were scratched in favor of Seth Jarvis and Travis Sanheim. Morrissey left the team's last game against Czechia with an injury and never returned. Canada had also made a switch in net, with Logan Thompson getting the start.
• Canada's lethal power play gave them a 1-0 lead about six minutes into the first period. 19 seconds into the man advantage, Nathan MacKinnon made a cross-ice pass to Connor McDavid, who squeezed the puck under the glove of goaltender Akira Schmid.

• The scoring had only just begun for Canada as a goal from Thomas Harley gave Canada a 2-0 lead. Connor McDavid notched point number two with the assist on goal. This time, it was him making the cross-ice pass and Harley finished the play.
• Four seconds after the Harley goal, Switzerland went on the power play and showed Canada wasn't the only one who could with the man advantage. The initial shot came from Sven Andrighetto, which Thompson got a piece of. The puck then hit the bar, and Pius Suter came in and cut Canada's lead to 2-1.
• Next up for Team Canada was the kid, as Macklin Celebrini scored his second goal in as many games. Just over four minutes into the second, Nathan MacKinnon made another nice pass for his second assist of the day as Canada grew its lead to 3-1.
• Canada was not done scoring yet, as their captain Sidney Crosby added to their lead, which gave them a 4-1 lead with about 12 minutes left in regulation. Cale Makar was able to get the puck to Mitch Marner. Marner was then able to get a shot off, which Crosby got a piece of.
• Following a Switzerland power play, Nathan MacKinnon scored his first goal of the game, and you guessed it, Connor McDavid had the assist. McDavid drove the puck to the net and shot the puck with his backhand before MacKinnon navigated traffic to get to the puck and increase Canada's lead to 5-1.

• Team Switzerland forward Kevin Fiala suffered an injury with about three minutes left in regulation after an awkward collision with Tom Wilson. Fiala had to be helped off the ice and put onto a stretcher. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope he is okay.
• Following the Fiala injury, play resumed but neither side scored in the final few minutes of play. With their victory, Canada secured first place in Group A and will receive a bye during the qualifying round.