Slovakia Becoming Gold Medal Threat After Latest Victory

Slovakia began the 2026 Winter Olympics with a surprisingly dominant victory over Finland, sending a message to the rest of the field. Days later, Slovakia reminded the tournament that they are not a team to underestimate as they continued their hot start to this year's Olympics.

Slovakia took on host country Italy in their second game of preliminary action. Italy came off an impressive performance against Sweden in their opening contest, losing in regulation but sticking tight for the entire game. They brought that same competitive style against Slovakia, but it wasn't enough to tackle a superior squad.

The contest was another step forward for Slovakia, which came away winners with a 3-2 victory. The win put them on top of the Group B standings and made them the only team with two wins in their first two contests. It also might have been enough to make them a real threat for the gold medal.

Goal Differential

In such a short tournament, tie-breakers become paramount. One of the most important ones at this event is goal differential. Luckily for Slovakia, they have the best goal differential in Group B. After defeating Finland 4-1 in their opener, their 3-2 victory against Italy raised their goal differential so far to +4. The team in second place, Finland, has a differential of 0 through two games.

Slafkovsky Keeps Producing

Montreal Canadiens Winger Juraj Slafkovsky is the centerpiece of the Slovakian team, and he's been their best player to begin the tournament. After scoring two goals in their preliminary opener, he added another point with an assist on the team's first goal of the contest, bringing him up to two goals and two assists for four points so far.

Slovakia goalie Samuel Hlavaj — Feb 11, 2026; Milan, Italy; Samuel Hlavaj of Slovakia saves a shot against Finland in men's ice hockey group B play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

A Little Help From My Friends

But what made their win over Italy that much more impressive and why they should be considered legitimate threats is because of the depth on display. Slovakia is a team with far fewer NHL players compared to powerhouses like Canada, the United States and Sweden, yet they are rolling all four lines with incredible success.

That was on display over Italy. Slovakia received production from three separate goal scorers, continuing the trend of spreading out the scoring.

One of the players benefitting the most from this is center Adam Ruzicka, Playing as the center to Slafkovsky at even strength, he's looked like a perfect fit as a top-line pivot. He scored his second goal of the tournament against Italy, this time it was the game-winner for his country.

With that type of contribution all over the lineup, Slovakia is in great shape. They have a tough test the rest of the way, but they have the pieces in place to go on an unlikely run to the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

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