MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 15: Connor Hellebuyck #37 and Matthew Tkachuk #19 of Team United States celebrate after the victory in the Men’s Preliminary Group C match between the United States and Germany on day nine of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 15, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Gregory Shamus
Getty Images
Seven of the 10 Florida Panthers taking part in the 2026 Winter Olympics are guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinal round of the men’s hockey tournament, putting them one win away from playing for a medal in Italy.
Canada, the United States, Slovakia and Finland are the top four seeds in the 12-team field after pool play, which gives them a bye from the play-in round of the tournament.
Canada and Finland each have three Panthers players on their rosters — Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart for Canada; Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola for Finland — while Matthew Tkachuk is on the United States’ roster.
As for the other three Panthers — Gustav Forsling on Sweden, Uvis Balinskis and Sandis Vilmanis on Latvia — their paths to compete for a medal include a game against each other on Tuesday to face the United States in the quarterfinal round.
Here’s a full breakdown of where things stand in the tournament overall and for the 10 Panthers now that pool play is complete.
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 12: Sam Reinhart #13 of Team Canada controls the puck against Filip Hronek #17 of Team Czechia in the first period during the Men’s Preliminary Group A match between Czechia and Canada on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on February 12, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Gregory Shamus Getty Images Standings
1.) Canada
2.) United States
3.) Slovakia
4.) Finland
5.) Switzerland
6.) Germany
7.) Sweden
8.) Czechia
9.) Denmark
10.) Latvia
11.) France
12.) Italy
Canada’s #87 Sidney Crosby (L) and Canada’s #63 Brad Marchand celebrate at the end of the men’s preliminary round Group A Ice Hockey match between Czech Republic and Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on February 12, 2026. Canada wins 5 -0 against Czech Republic. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images) ALEXANDER NEMENOV AFP via Getty Images How Florida Panthers fared in pool playCanada
-Sam Reinhart has one assist and five shots on goal while averaging just over 12-and-a-half minutes of ice time per game for Canada.
-Sam Bennett has gotten minimal time for Canada, playing an average of just nine minutes per game in pool play. He has one assist and four shots on goal.
-Brad Marchand only played in Canada’s tournament opener thus far and logged an assist in that game, a 5-0 win over Czechia. Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said Marchand will be back in the lineup for the team’s quarterfinal game.
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 15: Matthew Tkachuk #19 of Team United States controls the puck in the second period during the Men’s Preliminary Group C match between the United States and Germany on day nine of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 15, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Gregory Shamus Getty Images United States
-Matthew Tkachuk leads the Americans and is second overall in the tournament with five assists. He had two assists in the 5-1 tournament-opening win against Latvia, a third in the 6-3 win over Denmark on Saturday and then two more on Sunday in a 5-1 win against Germany.
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 13: Niko Mikkola #77 of Team Finland skates with the puck in the second period during the Men’s Preliminary Group B match between Finland and Sweden on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Bruce Bennett Getty Images Finland
-Anton Lundell scored a goal in Finland’s 4-1 win over Sweden on Friday and centered arguably Finland’s most productive line in their first two games before sitting out their pool-play finale — an 11-0 win against Italy — with illness.
-Eetu Luostarinen has three assists and has a plus-minus rating of plus-5.
-Niko Mikkola has three assists, tied for second-most among defensemen through pool play, and has a plus-minus rating of plus-7 that is tied for third in the tournament.
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 12: Uvis Balinskis #26 of Team Latvia controls the puck in the first period during the Men’s Preliminary Group C match between Latvia and United States on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 12, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Gregory Shamus Getty Images Latvia
-Uvis Balinskis has an assist while leading Latvia and ranking third in the tournament in average ice time per game (24:58).
-Sanids Vilmanis has six shots on goal while playing on Latvia’s top forward line.
Sweden
-Gustav Forsling scored a goal in Sweden’s 5-2 win against Italy on Wednesday and is averaging just over 19-and-a-half minutes of ice time per game.
Remaining men’s hockey schedule for OlympicsPlay-in round, Tuesday
-No. 5 Switzerland vs. No. 12 Italy, 6:10 a.m.
-No. 6 Germany vs. No. 11 France, 6:10 a.m.
-No. 8 Czechia vs. No. 9 Denmark, 10:40 a.m.
-No. 7 Sweden vs. No. 10 Latvia (the only matchup of the day featuring Panthers players), 3:10 p.m.
Quarterfinals, Wednesday
-No. 3 Slovakia vs. Germany/France winner, 6:10 a.m.
-No. 1 Canada vs. Czechia/Denmark winner, 10:40 a.m.
-No. 4 Finland vs. No. Switzerland/Italy winner, 12:10 p.m.
-No. 2 United States vs. Sweden/Latvia winner, 3:10 p.m.
Semifinals, Friday (game times TBD)
-Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed
-Second-highest remaining seed vs. Third-highest remaining seed
Bronze medal game, 2:40 p.m. Saturday
-Semifinal losers
Gold medal game, 8:10 a.m. Sunday
-Semifinal winners
This story was originally published February 15, 2026 at 6:05 PM.
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.