Rasmus Andersson’s debut in the Winter Olympics was a quiet one, but his teammates provided the noise.
The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman had two shots in 19:05 of Sweden’s 5-2 win over host Italy on the first day of the preliminary round in the men’s hockey tournament Wednesday.
The underdog Italians tied the score 2-2 in the second period before Sweden pulled away. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had three assists, and center Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist for Sweden.
First win gets all the smiles from Ras 😃#MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/D8MqVxXF8h
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 11, 2026
Sweden took an Olympic record 60 shots on goal, including 27 in the first period. Italian goalie Damian Clara made 46 saves before leaving in the third with an injury.
Sweden joined Slovakia in the win column in Group B in a stunning 4-1 win over Finland. Goaltender Samuel Hlavaj, who plays for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League, made 39 saves and stifled the high-octane Finland attack.
Sweden and Slovakia sit atop the group with three points.
Several Knights players will be in action Thursday.
Knights goaltender Akira Schmid and Switzerland will meet France at 3:10 a.m.
Canada will follow at 7:40 a.m., with Knights players Mark Stone, Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore — with coach Bruce Cassidy as an assistant — taking on the Knights’ Tomas Hertl and Czechia.
Team USA, with Knights players Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin, will face Latvia at 12:10 p.m.
Germany and Denmark will play Thursday, but injured Knights forward Jonas Rondbjerg has been ruled out of the tournament for Denmark.
All games can be streamed on Peacock. Canada’s and Team USA’s games will air on USA.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.