MILAN — Miracolo sul ghiaccio, it was not.
Team Italy, a 5.5-goal underdog in its Olympic opener against Sweden, threw an absolute scare into Tre Kronor by scoring 4:14 into the game, then tying it at two 37 seconds into the second period after the Swedes had appeared to regain control.
But hard as they fought, the Azzurri couldn't quite pull out what would have been possibly the greatest Olympic upset since the United States beat the USSR in Lake Placid. Sweden took it by a way-too-close 5-2 margin, with William Nylander 's goal at 16:46 of the second serving as the eventual winner.
"We want to show the world that we can actually play hockey cause some people don't believe in us," said Luca Frigo, who scored the opening goal. "We want to show we actually can. I think we showed it pretty well."
Elias Pettersson of Sweden celebrates a goal scored by Mika Zibanejad on Feb. 11, 2026. REUTERS
Italy is the only team in the tournament without an active NHL player, and doesn't even have a former NHLer on its roster. All 25 Swedes have NHL experience, a combined 16,880 games of it — and their 60 shots on net were the most in an Olympic game involving NHL players.
But Filip Gustavsson , Sweden's starter in nets, was the one overmatched in comparison with Damian Clara, the 21-year-old Italian who was picked 60th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2023 and who currently plays for Brynas IF in the Swedish Hockey League.
In large part because there were so few chances going the other way, though, Gustavsson took over half the game to settle in, letting in a pair of shots that had little business getting through.
"It's always nervous," Gustavsson said. "Your first Olympic Games, it's one of the biggest things you're gonna be a part of in a tournament. There's not a lot of volume against you when you're controlling the game. It's hard to get that feeling in the game all the time, you're just waiting most of the time and they're just coming, attacking you.
"The crowd was fun. A lot of Italian fans and as soon as they came over the red line they cheered very loudly. Everything they put towards the net sounded like it was the highest scoring chance ever. It was fun in that way."
Damian Clara of Italy and Tommy Purdeller of Italy in action with Mika Zibanejad of Sweden. REUTERS
The game took on a ridiculous feel with Sweden dominating possession as Clara made save after save, 46 in total before appearing to hurt his right leg stopping an Elias Pettersson breakaway and getting replaced by Davide Fadani 6:48 into the third. Italy coach Jukka Jalonen didn't have an update on his status after the game.
If nothing else, Clara may have earned himself a potential entry-level contract from the Ducks.
Gustavsson made an inexplicable play on an Italy dump-in 4:14 into the match, kicking the puck out to no-man's land. Frigo was on it first and buried.
After Gabriel Landeskog and Gus Forsling both scored to put Sweden up 2-1, Gustavsson let in the fourth shot he saw all game, letting Matt Bradley beat him short-side.
The Swedes, who came into this tournament hoping to knock off Canada and the United States for gold, did not play a particularly bad game, but as Italy hung around, they did lose some verve.
Cristiano Digiacinto, Tommaso de Luca and Jason Seed look dejected after the loss to Sweden. REUTERS
Italy, though, was predictably unable to get any kind of chances that didn't stem from Sweden mistakes or the occasional odd-man rush, making it near-impossible to come back down 3-2.
Mika Zibanejad 's goal with just under five minutes to go sealed the win for the Swedes before Victor Hedman 's empty-netter.
Filip Forsberg , who declined to speak to reporters in the mixed zone afterwards, played just 1:07 total as Sweden's 13th forward while Oliver Ekman-Larsson , who dressed as Tre Kronor's seventh defenseman, didn't play at all.
Hallam said he hopes his group benefits from the closer game before facing Finland on Friday.
"This actually gives us something to build on," Hallam said. "And we're gonna look through it. Look at some good examples and maybe some not as consistent where we want to be."
