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. Later in the day, at 3:10 p.m. ET, Victor Hedman will serve as an alternate captain as Sweden takes on Italy.
For both players, this will be their first appearance on the Olympic stage. Hedman has represented Sweden in international competition before, including the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and last season’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Cernak has represented Slovakia in multiple IIHF World Championships and World Juniors.
Tournament Format:
Twelve teams are divided into three groups of four.
Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France
Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
Group C: United States, Germany, Latvia, Denmark
Teams will play a three-game preliminary round, with a three-point system used to determine group standings (three points for a regulation win, two points for an extra-time win, and one point for an extra-time loss).
The four teams with the best records will receive byes to the quarterfinals. The remaining eight teams will play do-or-die games in what’s termed the “qualification round.”
After that, the tournament moves to the quarterfinals, semifinals, bronze-medal game and gold-medal game.
The ice will be the same width as NHL ice (85 feet) but is slightly shorter in length—196.85 feet, compared to 200 feet.
Overtime and shootout rules:
In the preliminary round, teams will play a five-minute, three-on-three overtime. If no goal is scored, the game will move to a shootout.
In elimination games prior to the gold-medal contest, overtime will consist of a 10-minute, three-on-three period, followed by a shootout.
For shootouts, five players will alternate shots until a decisive goal is scored. After each team has made five attempts, players who have already taken a shot can go again.
There is no shootout in the gold-medal game. If the contest is tied after 60 minutes, teams will play three-on-three overtime in 20-minute periods until a winner is determined.
Five of the 12 referees working the tournament are from the NHL. Fighting will result in ejection, and the international game has a stricter definition of what constitutes a check to the head.
Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Slovakia vs. Finland, 10:40 a.m. ET
Sweden vs Italy, 3:10 p.m. ET
Thursday, Feb. 12
Switzerland vs France, 6:10 a.m. ET
Czechia vs Canada, 10:40 a.m. ET
Latvia vs USA, 3:10 p.m. ET
Germany vs Denmark, 3:10 p.m. ET
Friday, Feb. 13
Finland vs Sweden, 6:10 a.m. ET
Italy vs Slovakia, 6:10 a.m. ET
France vs Czechia, 10:40 a.m. ET
Canada vs Switzerland, 15:10 p.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 14
Sweden vs Slovakia, 6:10 a.m. ET
Germany vs Latvia, 6:10 a.m. ET
Finland vs Italy 10:40 a.m. ET
USA vs Denmark 3:10 p.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 15
Switzerland vs Czechia, 6:10 a.m. ET
Canada vs France, 10:40 a.m. ET
Denmark vs Latvia 1:10 p.m. ET
USA vs Germany 3:10 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Feb. 17
Four qualification round games
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Four quarterfinal games
Friday, Feb. 20
Semifinal 1: 10:40 a.m. ET
Semifinal 2: 3:10 p.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 21
Bronze medal game: 2:40 p.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 22
Gold medal game: 8:10 a.m. ET