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Olympic Hockey Preview: Canada with a chance to play for Gold with win over Finland, USA vs. Slovakia
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Photo credit: © David W Cerny/Reuters via Imagn Images
Tyson Cole
Feb 19, 2026, 21:02 ESTUpdated: Feb 19, 2026, 22:49 EST
We’ve made it to the Final Four. All four remaining teams will be playing for an Olympic medal. Whether that be on Saturday for Bronze, or Sunday for Gold, they will all have an opportunity to take home some hardware.
There’s just one Vancouver Canuck remaining: Kevin Lankinen. However, he and Team Finland will have a daunting task against the Canadians. On the other side of the bracket, a pair of former Canucks, Quinn Hughes, JT Miller, and Team USA, will battle the surprise of the tournament team of the tournament, Team Slovakia.

Canada vs. Finland

Start time and info
Coverage for Team Canada vs. Team Finland kicks off on February 20 at 7:40 AM PST / 4:40 PM local from Milano Santagiulia IHO. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).
Projected lines
Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
We will await an update on Sidney Crosby’s availability for this contest against the Finns. According to reporters in Milan, Canada has closed tomorrow’s morning skate, so there likely won’t be an update until closer to game time. Nick Suzuki, who skated in Crosby’s spot between the pair of Vegas Golden Knights, would likely fill in that role. Sam Bennett, who missed the Quarterfinals with an illness, would slot back in if he’s ready to go.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
Starting goalies
At this stage of the tournament, teams will continue to ride with their guys who got them to the semifinals. So expect Jordan Binnington (1.65 GAA, .922 S%) for the Canadians and Juuse Saros (1.49 GAA, .938 S%) for the Finns.
Players to watch
Connor McDavid: This might be the low-hanging fruit here, but with Crosby’s status in question, and Nathan MacKinnon clearly ailing and not fully up to his regular speed, it is truly going to lie on McDavid’s shoulders. However, he can certainly handle it. His two goals and 11 points have him leading the tournament in scoring and tied for the most points in a single tournament of all time. If Canada doesn’t have Crosby playing, MacKinnon at top speed, or McDavid going, then they might be in trouble against a defensively sound Finnish squad.
Arturri Lehkonen: He might not get the credit he deserves, but Arturri Lehkonen shows up in big games. He scored the biggest goal of the tournament for the Finns, beating the Swiss netminder in all alone on a breakaway in overtime to punch their ticket to the semis. That goal now has him tied with former Colorado Avalanche teammate Mikko Rantanen for points (5) by a Finn. It seems like Finland always has a sneaky scoring threat in these tournaments. At the 4 Nations Face-off, it was Mikael Granlund, now that seems to be Lehkonen at these Olympics.

USA vs. Slovakia

Start time and info
Coverage for Team USA vs. Team Slovakia kicks off on February 20 at 12:10 PM PST / 9:10 PM local from Milano Santagiulia IHO. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).
Projected lines
Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
Starting goalies
At this stage of the tournament, teams will continue to ride with their guys who got them to the semifinals. So expect Connor Hellebuyck (0.98 GAA, .958 S%) for the Americans and Sam Hlavaj (2.67 GAA, .932 S%) for the Slovaks.
Players to watch
USA Depth Scoring: Looking at the Slovakian lineup on paper, you wouldn’t think they are as big of a handful as they are. They can surprise the top of the American lines, so having Jack Hughes and Brock Nelson continue their strong chemistry together, as well as getting some contributions from the third line of Clayton Keller, Dylan Larkin and Tage Thompson, will be needed to help the Americans cruise to the Finals.
Sam Hlavaj: Most of the talk surrounding this Slovakia team and their success at the tournament has been about Juraj Slafkovsky — and fair do. However, more needs to be discussed about the play of Sam Hlavaj. A goaltender who split the season between the AHL and the ECHL, going up against some of the NHL’s most talented forwards and having respectable numbers in an Olympic semifinal, needs to be more discussed. However, this will be his biggest test. We’ll see early whether he’s got what it takes to drag his country to an Olympic final.

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