Welcome to Last Word On Hockey’s Predictions from the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Each day, our writers look at the games and give in-depth analysis.

Severance is coming off an outstanding NHL season in which he went 235-155-21 (plus $2,022). He entered the Olympic break on a 26-12 roll on NHL money-line picks this season, returning $1,326 for $100 players. Anyone following his hockey picks at their favorite sportsbooks could have seen huge returns.

Victor Hedman thinks that Team Sweden needs to play more physically in order to win a very important Olympic quarterfinal against Team Latvia. Sweden's NHL-heavy roster is changing how they play to deal with Latvia's aggressive style as the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics get closer to elimination.

Sweden's Olympic campaign in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games is at a critical stage, with Victor Hedman emphasizing the importance of more physical play to prevent possible elimination at the hands of Latvia.

At Santaguila Ice Hockey Arena, Brock Nelson had two goals, while Tage Thompson, Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk each scored a goal for the Americans. Brothers Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes each had two assists, as did Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel. Also adding assists were Zach Werenski and Vincent Trocheck.

SportsLine's expert Mike Severance reveals his USA vs. Latvia picks for their Winter Olympics men's hockey matchup on Thursday

The 2026 Winter Olympics, featuring 16 sports with 116 medal events, will take place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Preliminary events will begin on Feb. 4, the opening ceremony will be Feb.

Qualifying round and quarterfinal seeding is set after the preliminary round's final day. See matchups, results from Sunday's Olympic men's hockey.

Denmark and Latvia face off in this Group A men's ice hockey matchup during the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday.