The men's ice hockey tournament has officially entered elimination territory. Any team that loses will miss out on winning the gold medal and thus their run in Milan, Italy, comes to an end. For Slovakia, they earned the first round bye as a result of winning Group B over Finland, Sweden, and Italy in an upset. It was an overall team effort, but the play of Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky certainly helped matters.
In the NHL's official return to the Olympics, Slafkovsky got off to a tremendous start, scoring two goals and recording an assist in Slovakia's 4-1 upset win over Finland. In a narrow 3-2 win over Italy, Slafkovsky notched an assist. To round out the group stage, Slafkovksky recorded a goal and an assist in a 5-3 loss to Sweden. So through three games, the Canadiens forward has three goals and three assists. As it turns out, he's now in elite company.
At the end of group play, Slafkovsky is tied for second-most points. The other players he's tied with? Macklin Celebrini and Sidney Crosby of Canada.
Top six scorers at the Olympics, all No. 1 overall picks. pic.twitter.com/00z092l3uV
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 16, 2026
Juraj Slafkovsky among NHL's elite on Olympic scoring leaderboard
Being tied in points with one of the top young stars in the game in Celebrini and one of the best overall players in hockey this century in Crosby? Not to mention, the only player who has more points than Slafkovsky is Connor McDavid, who is playing at an out-of-this-world level in these Winter Games. How can a Canadiens fan not be pumped up by this?
It's no secret that Montreal has love for Crosby. He grew up in Cole Harbour, Canada, and he admitted he was a fan of Montreal during that time. There was also Crosby getting cheered on by fans in Montreal during last year's 4 Nations Face-Off. That had NHL insiders speculating whether or not the Canadiens would explore a trade for Crosby. Granted, that was when the Pittsburgh Penguins entered the season with low playoff expectations. Crosby shut down the notion of leaving the Penguins. Now that Pittsburgh is in the playoff picture, a trade isn't happening.
The Canadiens are in playoff position as well, and they have a young core of players that Slafkovsky is a part of. This season, he is on pace to break his single-season best in points scored, as he has 21 goals and 24 assists through 57 games. He is just seven points away from breaking his single-season record.
At the pace Slafkovsky has played in the Olympics, Canadiens fans will certainly hope that it carries over for the final stretch of the regular season, as Montreal looks to secure a playoff berth.