The Olympic quarterfinals got underway with an awesome array of games. For the Colorado Avalanche, however, it meant some of their participants were heading home early after the quarterfinals.

The only other quarterfinal game taking place on Wednesday that didn’t have any Avalanche players in was Team Germany vs. Team Slovakia in the early morning. Slovakia opened the day with a big win, 6–2, sending home Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers.

Team Canada vs. Team Czechia

Perhaps the game of the tournament involved four Avs players on Team Canada and Team Czechia. Before the puck even dropped, Martin Necas brought the fire after he defeated Team Denmark.


Necas would have an impact, as he had a vital assist in the third period. He led a rush up the ice and dished off a nice assist to New York Islanders forward Ondrej Palat to give the Czechs the lead late. Necas was oh-so-close to winning it in the closing minutes before being stonewalled by St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, too.


On the flip side, Canada had to fight tooth and nail to get back into their most competitive game of the tournament. Devon Toews had an assist on the late-game-tying goal from Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki.

Before then, Nathan MacKinnon evened the game up at two with another power-play goal. Despite it all, bigger news came from other Canadians in the game. Vegas Golden Knights’ forward Mitch Marner scored the overtime winner with a beautiful backhander, 4–3. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby left the game with a lower-body injury. He did not return and will get an MRI to diagnose his injury.


Unfortunately, it meant Necas was the first Avs player to head home from the tournament with Czechia’s elimination. But it’s a tournament he, his country, and Avalanche fans will certainly not forget. He leaves as the joint-third top scorer of the Olympics, and tied for the most points in an Olympic tournament for the Czech Republic ever.

Team Finland vs. Team Switzerland

Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Kiviranta also had lots to do when Finland went up against Switzerland. The latter of the two went pointless, but Lehkonen had a say in the end result.

Down 2–0, the Fins required a late third-period comeback. Carolina Hurricanes’ forward Sebastian Aho got the comeback started, and with just over a minute left, a Dallas Stars trio completed it. Miro Hiskanen scored with assists from Roope Hintz and old friend Mikko Rantanen.

But in the second straight overtime game, it would be Lehkonen playing the hero. Similar to his Herculean efforts in playoff games with Montreal and Colorado, he would go bar down to send Finland to the semifinal with a 3–2 result. Their gold medal defense remains intact, with even more reinforcements available heading down the stretch.

Team USA vs. Team Sweden

Game three of three in the quarterfinals round saw Brock Nelson go up against his Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog. Both players, while kept off the scoresheet, managed to draw a penalty.

In the third overtime game of the day, it would be Quinn Hughes from the Minnesota Wild wristing one through Landeskog and in to eliminate the Swedes 2–1. Nelson will head to the semifinals, and Landeskog will regroup with his squad, already practicing back in Denver at the end of the quarterfinals round.

Up Next

The four remaining teams will get a day’s rest heading into three straight days of hockey on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On those respective days will be the semifinals, the bronze medal game, and the gold medal game.

With the teams reseeded for the semis, Team Canada will play Team Finland at 8:40 a.m. MT, while Team USA plays Team Slovakia at 1:10 p.m. MT. Good news for Avs fans: there will be at least one team with an Avs representative going for gold.