Hedman Scores First Point for Lightning Olympic Entourage; Cernak Helps Slovakia to Upset Win Over Finland

Erik Cernak took the ice for Team Slovakia as Bolt Captain Victor Hedman and Pontus Holmberg represented their home country of Sweden on Wednesday in Milan, Italy. Graphic: Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports

By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports

Bolts captain Victor Hedman scored an empty-net goal late in the third period, earning the first point for the players representing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The goal capped off a shaky 5-2 win over Group B rival and host country Italy on Wednesday.

Lightning forward Pontus Holmberg had two shots on goal in 14:30 of ice time. Hedman had four shots on 21:12 of ice time.

William Nylander broke a 2-2 tie in the second period to help Sweden regain their confidence after a nervous start to the game. Despite holding Italy to four shots through the first 30 minutes of play, Sweden found themselves in a heated deadlock leading up to the Nylander goal.

Hedman found himself on the bad end of several Italian rushes early in the game as nerves plagued the highly-touted Swedish bench. Sweden, a favorite to contend for gold, would finally gain the traction needed to pull away and win.

Italian goalie Damien Clara, an Anaheim Ducks prospect, stole the show by singlehandedly keeping Italy in the game for the first half. Clara stopped 46 of 49 shots before leaving in the third period with an injury.

"You put up 60 shots, usually, and you win those games - and we did," Hedman said. "We knew Clara was a big, big talent. Anaheim is lucky to have a prospect like that. He played unbelievably and kept them in the game."

"We could have been a little more direct, but it felt like a typical opening game and nerves, even though it doesn't matter who you play."

Slovakia Upsets Finland To Open Group B Play

Juraj Slafkovsky scored twice and added an assist, while Samuel Hlavaj made 39 saves in a Team Slovakia 4-1 upset win over Finland on Wednesday.

Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak was a +1 with 18:38 of ice time in 30 shifts. Cernak and the Slovakian defense stymied Finland throughout the match, sending one of the gold medal favorites to the loss column early in preliminary play.

"It feels amazing! We know now we can play against the top teams," Cernak said. "Obviously, we don't really have that many players from the NHL. But as you can see, it doesn't really matter when you put the team effort into it, and when you play the right way, and when you're listening to the coaching staff."

"You can beat any single team in this tournament."

Slovakia has only seven players currently in the NHL, including Cernak, compared to Finland, which has 24 of the 25 rostered players on NHL teams.

Up Next For Group B

The four Group B teams get a day to work on their game plans before resuming play on Friday. Finland will take on Sweden, and Slovakia plays Italy.

Group A and Group C Start Thursday

Group play begins on Thursday for teams in Groups A and C.

For Group A, Bolts defenseman JJ Moser and Switzerland will face off against France. Team Canada, led by Lightning coach Jon Cooper and featuring Brandon Hagel, plays Czechia.

Group C will see Jake Guentzel and the United States take on Zemgus Girgensons and Latvia.

Germany, featuring Lightning prospect and Syracuse Crunch Left Wing Wojciech Stachowiak, will lace up against Oliver Bjorkstrand and Denmark.

Both games will be the first ones to feature a head-to-head matchup among players from the Lightning organization.