Speed truly kills. Slovakia scored goals 33 seconds apart in the second period and downed Germany 6-2 in the first quarter-final of the 2026 Olympic men’s hockey tournament.

Pavol Regenda led the way with two goals and an assist for Slovakia. Dalibor Dvorsky and Oliver Okuliar had a goal and an assist apiece, and captain Tomas Tatar and Milos Kelemen also scored.

"It’s an amazing feeling," said veteran Slovak defenceman Erik Cernak. "We got this game done. We knew it was going to be a really hard game, and we knew we had to play our game. I’m really proud of the guys. We were playing like a unit."

The Slovaks celebrated wildly when they won the 2022 Olympic bronze medal in Beijing as 17-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky scored a tournament-best seven goals and got named MVP. Now they're back in the semi-finals with a shot at an even shinier medal.

For Germany, Lukas Reichel tallied a goal and an assist, and Frederik Tiffels had a single. Germany leaves Milan emptyhanded as it did at its four previous "NHL Olympics" (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010). Coming off a 5-1 qualification playoff win over France, the Germans lacked the energy and cohesion to combat the fired-up Slovaks.

It was a vivid reminder that team chemistry and not just NHL star power is crucial at these Olympics. The Germans brought big names like Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl, Ottawa's Tim Stutzle, and Detroit's Moritz Seider, but it wasn't enough.

"Overall, super-disappointing," said JJ Peterka, who plays for the Utah Mammoth. "I think the team grew together more and more as the tournament went on, especially in the last game against France. Slovakia played super-physical and had good structure. I think we just allowed them too much, started trading off chances, and that's what was the difference at the end of the day."

German goalie Philipp Grubauer played a good first period, but surrendered three goals on five second-period shots. The Seattle Kraken veteran wound up with 29 saves. Meanwhile, Slovak goalie Samuel Hlavaj was solid with 25 stops.

"It's already like a huge success, if you look at the other rosters and ours," said Hlavaj. "So it's really good, but we have two more games to prove ourselves."

Slovakia came out hot, and Grubauer had to be sharp during a mid-first period Slovak power play to stop Slafkovsky from the right faceoff circle. The Germans’ first power play struggled to get set up and to get Draisaitl – a three-time NHL 50-goal scorer and the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner – into prime shooting positions.

The Slovaks finally got to Grubauer at 18:07, as Regenda, standing in front, tipped in Cernak’s shot from the right point. It was the first goal in Milan for the two-time Olympian from the San Jose Sharks. First period shots were 17-5 Slovakia.

Early in the second period, there was concern when Slafkovsky fell awkwardly near the boards after taking a hit from Seider and lay in pain. But he got up, and the Slovaks' worries turned to joy as they opportunistically broke down the German defence.

"Through the whole tournament, you have to take some and get some," said Tatar. "Juraj did. He took it like a man. Thankfully, he was all right, and he jumped right back on."

First, Regenda fed the puck up to Kelemen on the left side, and German blueliner Lukas Kaible took a tumble while trying to check him, enabling the HC Dynamo Pardubice forward to scoot in for a backhand goal at 4:01.

At 4:34, Okuliar made it 3-0, executing a neutral-zone give-and-go with Libor Hudacek and racing in to beat Grubauer on the forehand. Coach Vladimir Orszagh's bench whooped it up.

Of the two quick goals, Hlavaj said: "It was crucial to our win."

Dvorsky made it 4-0 at 11:21 on a 2-on-1, snapping the puck high past Grubauer on the short side.

Germany ended Hlavaj's shutout bid at 14:59, with Reichel converting a cross-ice feed from Draisaitl on the rush. But it was too late to turn the tide.

In the third period, Regenda restored Slovakia's four-goal lead at 0:58. Martin Pospisil won an offensive-zone draw back to Patrik Koch, and his shot attempt bounced to Regenda in the high slot. He made no mistake for his second of the afternoon.

Tiffels cut the deficit to 5-2 at 9:09, finishing off a nice passing play during a brief German man advantage. But that was as close as Deutschland would get.

Jubilant chants of "Slovensko!" echoed at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena with time winding down. Pulling Grubauer for the extra attacker proved futile as Tatar added the empty-netter with 3:27 left. Slafkovsky received an assist, bringing the Montreal Canadiens star's team-leading points total to seven.

"Obviously there were a lot of people in the stands again, cheering us forward, and we feel that the atmosphere is electric," said Tatar. "So it's awesome. At the end, you're playing for the people, and I hope they enjoy it."

Slovakia also defeated Germany in the 2022 quarter-final in Beijing by a 4-0 count.

Germany’s last Olympic medal was a surprising silver at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, in which NHLers did not take part. The Cinderella Germans led the OAR team 3-2 with under four minutes left in regulation, but fell 4-3 in overtime on Kirill Kaprizov’s power play goal.

Winning an Olympic medal versus NHL players is a dearly cherished goal for the Slovaks and their ardent fans. The Slovaks came very close at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, taking a 3-1 lead on Finland in the bronze medal game on a three-point effort by tournament scoring leader Pavol Demitra. But Olli Jokinen scored twice in the third period as the Finns rallied to win 5-3. Is a happier ending in store this time? Stay tuned.