MILAN – A few weeks ago, standing in the visitors’ dressing room in Buffalo, Juraj Slafkovský was asked about his return to the Olympics, how he could build on his MVP performance and bronze medal for Slovakia from 2022 in Beijing.

Slafkovský paused, took a breath, and tried to keep expectations under control, knowing the tournament in Milan would be completely different with NHL players.

“I want to show that I’m a leader and lead the guys, lead by example on the ice by playing hard, fight for our country,” Slafkovský said then. “I feel that’s the main thing, to show that I can be that guy.”

Slafkovský is one game in, and he’s already showing he can be that guy.

Slafkovský scored the tournament’s opening goal, added another in the third period and assisted on the empty-netter in Slovakia’s upset, tournament-opening 4-1 win against Finland on Wednesday.

They were his eighth and ninth goals in eight games at the Olympics, but these two felt far more important.

“I’m happy that it’s like this,” Slafkovský said after the game, “that I’m able to help my country, help my friends out there that are trying to win the game.”

After Slafkovský helped ice the game, when he lost his stick with the puck trickling toward Finland’s empty net and attempted twice to kick it before his linemates Tomáš Tatar and Adam Ružička finished the job, Slafkovský jumped into Ružička’s arms with an extra dose of his usual enthusiasm.

“Sometimes even in Montreal I have problems with hitting the net or putting the puck in,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, here we go again, hopefully someone is coming and someone’s going to put it in.’ Yeah, thank God it happened, someone came and we were able to close out the game.”

Slafkovský knows how important this tournament is for his country, and he was happy to provide something for his compatriots in Slovakia and the thousands that were in Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. But more telling than Slafkovský’s comments about himself were his teammates’ comments about him, and what a performance like this might mean for Slovakia not just in the coming weeks, but the coming years.

“He is a great player,” Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry said. “We didn’t have that type of player for a long, long time in Slovakia. We’ve just got to be really, really happy and thrilled that we’ve got that type of player.”

One of Slafkovský’s closest friends is New Jersey Devils defenseman Šimon Nemec. They grew up as hockey players together, they made Slovak history together when they were the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2022 draft, and they got to enjoy this upset win against Finland together.

When it was over, Nemec could not have been happier for his good friend.

“If your best player is playing his best hockey, then the team is playing great,” he said. “We know he’s still 21, so he’s not going to do that every night. But if he’s going to do that, then we’ve got a chance to win the game, like we did.”

Slovakia head coach Vladimir Országh was reluctant to give all the credit to Slafkovský for the win, and rightfully so, but he acknowledged that, for one game, he met the massive expectations his country has for him.

“Look at his stats and his performance, he’s the best player, best offensive guy we have on the team,” Országh said. “We expect big things to happen for him, and he did it. He scored crucial goals, critical goals, but it wasn’t just about him. I wouldn’t just talk about Juraj. He was great today, but so were the other 21 guys on the team.”

Slafkovský was also dishing out credit, especially to goaltender Samuel Hlavaj, who made 39 saves and almost single-handedly allowed Slovakia to enter the third period in a 1-1 tie.

After the game, Hlavaj, who is a Minnesota Wild prospect but was never drafted into the NHL, was asked to describe how Slafkovský looked to him.

“He performed like a No. 1 draft pick,” he said. “I would say it like that.”

So would, presumably, the Montreal Canadiens.