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02/16 08:23 CST Sweden has arguably the toughest path to men's hockey gold at the Olympics Sweden has arguably the toughest path to men's hockey gold at the Olympics By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer MILAN (AP) --- After realizing his team would have to play in the qualification round at the Milan Cortina Olympics, Sweden coach Sam Hallam was quick to reference what Canada did 16 years ago after a rough start on home ice in Vancouver. Canada also had to play the extra game and went on to win it all on Sidney Crosby's golden goal in overtime in the final against the United States. If the Swedes do the same this time, they will have earned every carat of their gold medals. Sweden as the seventh seed has an incredibly difficult path through the men's hockey tournament, starting in the qualification playoffs on Tuesday against 10th-seeded Latvia. The winner of that game faces the unbeaten U.S. in the quarterfinals Wednesday night. "We're going to have to play ... one more game than some other teams, but that's an opportunity for us to come together even more as a team, work on our details, work on our game as a unit out there," forward Adrian Kempe said. "That's just the way I'm seeing it." Sweden dropped out of the No. 3 spot only because it allowed a last-minute goal to Slovakia that changed who won the group based on a tiebreaker. That 5-3 victory Saturday was arguably the best Sweden has played thus far in Milan, from goaltender Jacob Markstrom out. "Everyone contributed," alternate captain Victor Hedman said. "Marky played great. A lot to build on and look forward to the next one." Hallam has a decision to make in net given the back-to-back scheduling. Markstrom may have played well enough to become Sweden's starter, but Filip Gustavsson could get the nod against Latvia. "Let us see," Hallam said. "(Markstrom) showed good presence. I like the way he plays with the puck. He started a couple of breakouts for us. He felt big, felt solid, so he did a good impression on me, yeah."

No. 5 Switzerland vs. No. 12 Italy Switzerland beating Czechia in overtime Sunday on Dean Kukan's goal was a big one to play winless host Italy, which was outscored 19-4 in round-robin play. The Swiss should be able to get into the quarterfinals and face Finland, even after losing one of their top forwards, Kevin Fiala, to a leg injury that required surgery and ended his Olympics and probably his NHL season. "We care about each other very much, and we care about winning," winger Timo Meier said. "This group we have here, we love playing with each other. We're a really tight group." Much like Hallam, Switzerland coach Patrick Fischer has to decide whether to play 38-year-old national team goalie Leonardo Genoni back to back or go with backup Akira Schmid in what should be an easily winnable game.

No. 6 Germany vs. No. 11 France The other team with what should be a safe path into the quarterfinals is Germany against France, which lost 10-2 to Canada on Sunday. France made things interesting against Czechia but like Italy went 0-3-0 and was outscored by 15 goals. "We know what to expect, and we have to give our A-game," France winger Sacha Treille said. "It's just one hockey game, so everything can happen." Led by 2020 NHL MVP Leon Draisaitl, Germany lost to the U.S. on Sunday but still finds itself with a plausible path through to the semifinals. If Germany beats France, it would play third-seeded Slovakia on Wednesday.

No. 8 Czechia vs. No. 9 Denmark Martin Necas was not happy after he and the Czechs lost to Switzerland, knowing what it would mean for their seeding. Denmark defeating Latvia thanks to a 33-save performance by Frederik Andersen moved it up in what's a positive bounce for Czechia. "If we want to win, we have to get through everybody," defenseman Radko Gudas said. "(We have) a lot of guys who have been around these type of games. For us that means playing smart, putting pucks in the right places and make the other team go 200 feet and make go through all of us at all times." Czechia has three NHL goaltenders, so Dan Vladar could start Tuesday to get Lukas Dostal ready for the biggest challenge of his life. The winner of the game faces the machine that is Canada --- unquestionably the team to beat. ___ AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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