NHL players are back at the Olympics, and preliminary play opens with two contests in Milan. Here is the schedule, where to watch and scores.

The men’s tournament in Milan officially gets underway on Wednesday, as Finland opens up Group B play of the 2026 Winter Olympics against Slovakia.

Welcome back to… record scratch… Welcome to our first edition of Olympic hockey predictions here at Last Word On Hockey, where we will be covering the men’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics each day throughout the preliminary round and beyond.

MILAN -- The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 men’s hockey tournament begins Wednesday when the 12 nations compete in three groups. Group A consists of Canada, Czechia, France and Switzerland. Finland, Italy, Sweden and Slovakia will play in Group B. Group C features Denmark, Germany, Latvia and the United States.

It’s Day 5 of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, with eight gold medals on the line. The men’s Alpine skiing super-G is currently in progress, while a heavy crash for Chinese snowboarder Jiayu Liu caused halfpipe qualifying to be delayed for almost 10 minutes.

San Jose Sharks forward Pavol Regenda would love his second trip to the Winter Olympic Games to go as well as his first. Regenda was part of a Slovakian team in 2022 that at first had modest expectations going into the Games in Beijing.

The superstars of the NHL will return to Winter Olympic action later on Wednesday, bringing with them thousands of fans from across the world, but it’s been far from a smooth buildup to the Games.

Ice dance will crown a new gold medalist on Wednesday, while the U.S. faces the strong Swiss team in the men's skiing Super-G. The men's hockey tournament will also get underway on Wednesday, as Slovakia faces defending champion Finland.

GROUP PLAY (Feb 11-15): The 12 countries play a round-robin within their respective groups, with three games per team. Teams earn three points for a regulation win, two points for overtime or shootout wins, one point for overtime or shootout losses, and zero points for regulation losses.

The Men's Olympic Hockey Tournament opens on February 11, 2026, when Sweden battles Italy and Finland takes on Slovakia. What hockey bets are we making today?

Get to know how the Olympic tournament is set up ahead of the preliminary round.

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 begins Wednesday when the 12 nations compete in three groups. Group A consists of Canada, Czechia, France and Switzerland. Finland, Italy, Sweden and Slovakia will play in Group B. Group C features Denmark, Germany, Latvia and the United States.