It sure doesn’t feel like the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics only started a few days ago. The action has been coming fast and furious, and with so many Florida Panthers players and staffers participating, there is plenty for South Florida hockey fans to follow. Florida’s three Finnish players have seen plenty of ice time during their opening matches. Defenseman Niko Mikkola has averaged just under 19 minutes of ice time while picking up an assist, four shots on goal, two penalty minutes and a plus-2 on-ice rating through Finland’s first two games, a 4-1 loss to Slovakia and a 4-1 win over Sweden. Anton Lundell scored his first Olympic goal in the victory over rival Sweden, and Eetu Luostarinen picked up an assist. The pair played around 16 minutes against Slovakia but were on the ice for closer to 19 minutes in the victory over their Swedish rivals. Speaking of Team Sweden, Panthers defenseman Gus Forsling has been a steady force on their blueline. He also scored his first Olympic goal in Sweden’s tournament-opening win over Italy and finished the preliminary round with two points, six shots and a plus-2 rating. We’ll see how things play out to see which of the two will advance to the medal round. Slovakia amazingly leads Group B thanks to goal differential, so it’s likely only one of Finland or Sweden will advance. The three Panthers players on Team Canada are having a good time so far in Milan thanks to the Canadians skating to a pair of victories over Czechia and Switzerland by a combined score of 10-1. Florida’s skaters, Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett, all received limited ice time in their opening win over Czechia, though Marchand did pick up an assist. The veteran forward was held out of Canada’s second game, while Reinhart and Bennett saw a slight uptick in ice time. The two Latvian Panthers players got a huge boost on Saturday as they took down Germany 4-3, bouncing back from a tough 5-1 opening-loss to the U.S. Defenseman Uvis Balinskis has led all Latvians in ice time in both of their games, adding an assist and a shot on goal in the win, while Sandis Vilmanis logged just over 18 minutes of ice time and picked up a pair of shots. The win for Latvia was only their fourth ever in Olympic competition and first since 2014. Matthew Tkachuk and Team USA will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they face Denmark. We’ll have another Olympic Panthers update for you soon, so stay tuned! LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Report: Team Finland Players Wanted Panthers' Paul Maurice As Olympic Head Coach [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/report-team-finland-players-wanted-panthers-paul-maurice-as-olympic-head-coach] The Hockey Show: Panthers Players Busy In Milan, Talking Olympics With Ryan S. Clark [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-panthers-players-busy-in-milan-talking-olympics-with-ryan-s-clark] Panthers' Niko Mikkola Appears To Suffer An Injury While At The Olympics [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-niko-mikkola-appears-to-suffer-an-injury-while-at-the-olympics] Matthew Tkachuk shines, Uvis Balinskis logs heavy minutes as US defeats Latvia at Winter Olympics [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/matthew-tkachuk-shines-uvis-balinskis-logs-heavy-minutes-as-us-defeats-latvia-at-winter-olympics] Panthers players see limited ice time as Team Canada defeats Czechia 5-0 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-players-see-limited-ice-time-as-team-canada-defeats-czechia-5-0] Photo caption: Feb 14, 2026; Milan, Italy; Sandis Vilmanis of Latvia celebrates after the match during a Group C men's ice hockey game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. (Amber Searls-Imagn Images)
