Recap of NHL from Milano, 17 February 2026

Devils captain Nico Hischier factored on all three Team Switzerland goals and guided them to a quarterfinal clash with Team Finland.

* Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond and Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl both posted three points to achieve rare feats and help Team Sweden and Team Germany advance to the quarterfinals, respectively.

* Avalanche forward Martin Necas led Team Czechia into the quarterfinals, where they will battle Team Canada to round out the final eight countries remaining.

HISCHIER TALLIES THREE POINTS AS SWITZERLAND SKATES TO QUARTERFINALS
Devils captain Nico Hischier (1-2—3) factored on all three of his country’s goals during their qualifying match, while fellow Devils forward Timo Meier (0-2—2) bolstered his Milano Cortina 2026 totals to help Team Switzerland advance to the quarterfinals where they will meet Team Finland. Tomorrow will be just the second meeting between the two countries in an Olympics involving NHL players, following the 2006 round robin (5-0 FIN) – also in Italy.

* Hischier tied Roman Wick (1-2—3 on Feb. 20, 2010) for the most points in a game by a Swiss player in an Olympics involving NHL players. He also recorded 0-2—2 in the opening frame, which matched the most assists in a period by a Swiss player in a tournament involving NHL players (also Mathias Seger 0-2—2 in P2 on Feb. 20, 2010). Only one player from any country has posted more in a single frame: Patrick Marleau (0-3—3 in P2 on Feb. 14, 2014).

* Meier improved to 3-3—6 (4 GP) through Milano Cortina 2026 – tied for the fourth-most points among all players. He also tied Jean-Jacques Aeschlimann (3-3—6 in 2002) for the most by a Swiss player in a single tournament during Olympics with NHL participation.

RAYMOND CONTINUES STRING OF SUCCESS AS QUICK GOALS HELP SWEDEN ADVANCE

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond (0-3—3) assisted on the second of two goals in a 41-second span in the first period and two in the third period as Team Sweden eliminated Team Latvia and secured a matchup with No. 2 seed Team USA in the quarterfinals. The two clubs are meeting in the Winter Olympics featuring NHL players for the third time (also 2006 RR & 1998 RR) – the United States are one of five countries Sweden owns a perfect record against in that tournament layout (min. 2 GP) alongside Czechia (3-0-0-0), Latvia (3-0-0-0), Germany (2-0-0-0) and Switzerland (2-0-0-0).

* Raymond (1-7—8 in 4 GP), whose seven assists leapfrogged Matthew Tkachuk (0-5—5) and tied Connor McDavid (2-7—9) for the most among all players at Milano Cortina, overtook Peter Forsberg (6 in 2006) for the most by a Swedish player in a single Olympic tournament with NHL players.

* Tuesday’s contest also watched the Red Wings forward become the first Swedish player to register consecutive three-point games at the Olympics featuring NHL players and match the Team Sweden record for longest assist streak in that scenario (4 GP), a distinction he now shares with Nicklas Backstrom (2010) and Nicklas Lidstrom (2002). Overall, only two different players have recorded a longer stretch: Jonathan Toews (5 GP in 2010 w/ CAN) and Saku Koivu (5 GP in 2006 & 1998 w/ FIN).

DRAISAITL, STÜTZLE POWER GERMANY TO QUARTERFINALS

Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (1-2—3) and Senators forward Tim Stützle (1-1—2) each recorded their second multi-point game of the tournament to lift Team Germany into the quarterfinals round of an Olympics with NHL players for the second time (also 2002).

* Draisaitl and Stützle, who also collected two points in the Preliminary Round against Team Denmark, became the fourth and fifth Team Germany players to record two or more multi-point games in a single Olympic tournament with NHL players, joining Klaus Kathan (2x in 2002), Len Soccio (2x in 2002) and Leon’s father, Peter Draisaitl (2x in 1998).

* Stützle (4-2—6 in 4 GP), who has found the scoresheet in all four of his country’s games, and Draisaitl (2-4—6 in 4 GP) have now matched Soccio (2002: 3-3—6 in 7 GP) for the most points in a single tournament by a Team Germany player in Olympics with NHL participation.

* Team Germany will now face Team Slovakia in the opening game of Wednesday’s quarterfinals round after the Slovaks claimed first place in Group B via a three-way tiebreaker based on head-to-head goal differential. This will mark the third all-time meeting between the countries at Olympics with NHL players, and first to take place in the quarterfinals or later. Team Germany has won the previous two meetings: 3-0 W in 2002 Preliminary Round and 4-2 W in 1998 Consolation Round.

CZECHIA ADVANCES AS NECAS NOTCHES THIRD STRAIGHT MULTI-POINT GAME
Avalanche forward Martin Necas (1-1—2) factored on the first two of three Team Czechia goals to collect his third straight multi-point game and send his nation to a quarterfinal meeting against Team Canada. Czechia advanced to the quarterfinals for the sixth straight Olympic tournament with NHL players, setting the stage for its fifth contest against Canada in an Olympics with NHL participation (most recent: Feb.12, 2026). Their only previous meeting in a playoff round came in the 1998 semifinals, where Dominik Hasek led the Czechs to a 2-1 shootout win against Wayne Gretzky and the Canadians en route to an eventual gold medal.

* Necas (3-4—7 in 4 GP) became the first Czech player to score in three consecutive games at an Olympic tournament featuring NHL players. He also tied Jaromir Jagr (2-5—7 in 2006) for the second-most points by a Czech player in a single Olympics with NHL participation, behind Martin Straka (2-6—8 in 2006).

* Necas, Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek (0-1—1) and Bruins forward David Pastrnak (0-1—1) –  who factored on the winner – each extended their assist streak to three games and matched Marek Zidlicky (3 GP in 2010) for the longest run by a Czech player at an Olympic Games featuring NHL players. The trio can also establish the longest point streak by a Czech player on Wednesday.

QUICK CLICKS

* Sidney Crosby gifts Team France goalie stick after matchup at 2026 Olympics

* Team USA physician taking in another Olympic experience

* Pierre-Edouard Bellemare plays last game internationally for Team France at Olympics

* Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson soaking in Olympic experience with Team USA

* 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey schedule