MILAN — Juraj Slafkovsky scored twice to pick up where he left off four years ago, fellow NHL player Dalibor Dvorsky got the tiebreaking goal with less than 13 minutes left, and Slovakia pulled off an upset in the first men’s hockey game of the Milan Cortina Olympics by beating Finland 4-1 on Wednesday.
Slafkovsky, the MVP at the 2022 Beijing Games who now plays for the Montreal Canadiens, scored the first goal of this tournament less than eight minutes in, skating through Finland’s defense and sliding the puck past a helpless Juuse Saros. After Dvorsky scored in the third period to put Slovakia ahead, Slafkovsky wired a shot past Saros on the power play and pumped his fist to the crowd.
He also scored the first two goals of the opener in Beijing against Finland, though that came in a 6-2 loss. Slafkovsky finished with seven goals while helping Slovakia win bronze, the country’s first Olympic hockey medal.
Slafkovsky and his teammates got off to a surprisingly better start in Milan after it looked on paper like they were overmatched. Slovakia dressed seven NHL players, while all but one on Finland’s roster plays in the league.
Goaltender Samuel Hlavaj had a lot to do with the initial underdog story on the ice, fending off one onslaught after another. Finland outshot Slovakia 18-5 in the first period and 39-25 overall, and the Minnesota Wild prospect finished with 38 saves.
Unable to watch while the U.S. team he runs was practicing next door, Wild general manager Bill Guerin said “it’s great” that Hlavaj got off to such a strong start at the Olympics.
It was not so good for Saros, the Nashville Predators starter who allowed three goals on 24 shots in the defeat. Finland next plays archrival Sweden on Friday, and it’s possible Vancouver‘s Kevin Lankinen gets the nod, just as he did in replacing Saros in net at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago.
Eeli Tolvanen, also a returning Olympian after playing in 2018, scored Finland’s only goal. Adam Ruzicka scored into an empty net to seal it for Slovakia.
The 30-game tournament will conclude with the gold medal final on Feb. 22. The NHL is participating in the Games for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, ending a long wait for stars from all over the world.
Sweden faces host Italy in the nightcap of Day 1. The tournament favorites get underway Thursday, when the U.S. faces Latvia and Canada takes on Czechia.
