It was a tale of two nights for the Los Angeles Kings at the opener of the Olympics today. Joel Armia’s Finland unraveled in the third period, while Adrian Kempe helped Sweden close strong against Italy.
For the first time in over a decade, we got our first look at the men's hockey team competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics today. The Kings, represented by Joel Armia competing for Finland and Adrian Kempe for Sweden, both played today.
We will dive into both players' performances and the team's outcome to see how the Winter Olympics opener went.
The first game of the day was Finland versus Slovakia. Joel Armia and the Finns came up short against Slovakia after tying the game 1-1 in the second period; they were unable to build on that momentum, as Slovakia scored three goals in the third period to win 4-1 in their Group B opener.
While Adrian Kempe and Sweden secured a dominant 5-2 win over Italy in their Group B opener.
Slovakia vs Finland
Armia, representing the Los Angeles Kings in the first matchup against Slovakia, was very aggressive and engaged, finishing with 5 shots on goal, but couldn't score and was called for roughing at the end of the first period following a post-whistle scrum.
The penalty carried over into the second, but the Finns successfully killed off Slovakia's power-play opportunity.
Finland appeared to have flipped the script when Matuš Sukeľ was called for holding Mikko Rantanen, allowing Finland to go on the man advantage. The Finns capitalized, tying the game 1-1 on Eeli Tolvanen’s goal early in the second period, briefly seizing some momentum.
From then on, however, Slovakia turned the closely contested match into a blowout, scoring two goals in three minutes and sealing the win with an empty-netter goal with under two minutes left.
Armia finished with an assist on Finland's lone goal and was a +1 in the minutes he logged, but Finland's inability to stop Slovakia in the third period cost them. The defensive lapses and turnovers cost them the tough loss in a very winnable game.
The Finns' next game will be against Sweden on Friday at 6:00 a.m. EST, where we will get our first look at Armia vs Kempe in a big matchup to see which team will bounce back and stay competitive in their respective group.
Italy vs Sweden
The final game of the Winter Olympics saw Kempe and Sweden deliver a solid performance against Italy, winning 5-2. Kempe logged an assist on William Nylander's goal in the second period, helping Sweden take the 3-2 lead after both teams traded goals early.
Sweden added two more goals in the third period to seal the victory after Italy was shorthanded with Damian Clera exiting the game after having a monster performance, 46 saves on 49 shots.
Kempe's ability to set up his teammates and his speed stood out, helping Sweden score as many goals as they did. Also, outshooting Italy 51-23 clearly indicated how dominant and aggressive Sweden was offensively today.
The Swedish forward finished with one assist and five shots on goal. The box score doesn't show the impact he had on the ice, helping his teammates score and log positive minutes in the win over Italy.
With Sweden set to play against Finland next on Friday at 6: a.m. EST, Armia and Finland will face immediate pressure to rebound, while Sweden and Kempe will continue to build off their momentum toward medal aspirations.
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