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.

Men’s Olympic hockey returns to the world stage Wednesday, featuring two Lightning defensemen. The tournament opens at 10:40 a.m. ET with Finland facing Slovakia, and Erik Cernak serving as an alternate captain.

It’s Day 5 of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, with eight gold medals on the line. The first went to Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen, who added Alpine skiing’s super-G to his downhill and team combined titles.

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.

NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014. Here are the rosters and schedule, plus how to watch:

The NHL players compete in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014, as the 2026 Men's Hockey Tournament is scheduled to start on February 11 in Milan. There will be 12 teams competing in the group stage,

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

The 2026 Winter Olympics, featuring 16 sports with 116 medal events, will take place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Preliminary events began Feb. 4 and the closing ceremony will be Feb.

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?