2026 Winter Olympics Daily: Feb. 20

It’s semi-finals day at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina!

Day 8 schedule (Feb. 20):

Canada vs. Finland – 10:40am ET / 7:40am PT
USA vs. Slovakia – 3:10pm ET / 12:10pm PT

The day ahead: 

The first semi of the day sees tournament favourites Canada battle Finland. Canada is 4-0-0 thus far after rolled past Czechia, Switzerland and France in the round-robin but needed a 4-3 overtime win against the Czechs in Wednesday’s quarterfinals as former London Knights Mitch Marner (VGK) buried the game-winner. Erie Otters alumnus Connor McDavid (EDM) leads the tournament in scoring with 11 points and when he registers his 12th, it’ll set a new Olympic record for most points at a tournament featuring NHL players. Canada is looking for its 10th gold medal at the Olympics and first since 2014 – the last time NHL players competed at the tournament.

As for Finland, they finished second in Group B as part of a three-way tie with Slovakia and Sweden but advanced straight to the quarterfinals as the best second place team. There, they needed overtime to eliminate Switzerland 3-2 in a game in which they trailed 2-0 in the third period as Artturi Lehkonen scored the decisive goal. Finland have now reached the Final Four in four of the last five Olympics that was highlighted by its only gold medal in 2022.

The second semi-final sees the USA face Slovakia. Like Canada, the USA went 3-0-0 in the round-robin as they beat Latvia, Denmark and Germany to advance to the quarterfinals. Against Sweden, they won 2-1 in overtime thanks to Quinn Hughes’ game-winner. The USA are two-time gold medallists (1960/1980) and haven’t medalled since they won silver in 2010.

As for Slovakia, they won the three-way tie in Group B to head straight to the quarters. They had the easiest time Wednesday as they comfortable eliminated Germany 6-2 as Sudbury Wolves alumnus Dalibor Dvorsky (STL) had a goal and an assist. With his six points (3G/3A) in the tournament, he now owns the most points at a single Olympics for a rookie NHL player.  Slovakia are in search of its second Olympic medal after they won bronze in 2022. They also reached the semis in 2010 where they wound up fourth.

Your #MilanoCortina2026 semi-finalists 🤩

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🇺🇸🆚🇸🇰 pic.twitter.com/FYVXyXYGc7

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 19, 2026

CHL scoring leaders: