Will Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins or Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs start for Latvia on Feb. 17 against Sweden in a Milano Cortina 2026 playoff qualifying matchup?
That’s the biggest question going into a single-elimination game at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, that will determine who plays the United States in the tournament’s quarterfinals Feb. 18 at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
Merzlikins hasn’t played since making his Olympic debut by logging the first two periods of Latvia’s 5-1 opening loss to the U.S. on Feb. 12 in Group C of the preliminary round. Silovs replaced him for the third in that game and played the next two games Feb. 14-15 in back-to-back games against Germany, a 4-3 upset victory, and Denmark, a 4-2 loss to close out play in the preliminary round.
When will Latvia play Sweden in men’s hockey at Milano Cortina 2026?
The puck is scheduled to drop for Latvia and Sweden at 3:10 p.m. ET on Feb. 17 at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy.
How to watch Elvis Merzlikins, Latvia play Sweden at Milano Cortina 2026
USA Network will broadcast the game live at 3:10 p.m. ET Feb. 15. The broadcast will also be available via livestream on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Stream the Olympics on Peacock.
Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins hopes to play again at 2026 Milano Cortina
Merzlikins allowed four goals on 32 shots during his only action, but he was swarmed by a dominant U.S. team in both periods of Latvia’s Olympic opener. Silovs played well against Germany in Latvia’s second game, backstopping an upset victory, but struggled against Denmark a day later.
Latvian head coach Harijs Vitolins hasn’t named a starting goalie against Sweden, and he’s proved to be a wild card when it comes to picking goalies. Starting Silovs over Merzlikins against Denmark and asking him to handle both ends of a back-to-back was surprising and appeared to backfire when Denmark put Latvia in a 3-0 hole in the first period.
Merzlikins has extensive international experience and was considered Latvia’s top goalie entering this tournament. He’s played in six world championships, an Olympic qualifying tournament and three world junior championships prior to these Winter Olympics, authoring some memorable upset victories.
Merzlikins wasn’t his sharpest against the U.S., but made a number of impressive saves while Latvia was hemmed into its own end. Merzlikins also got some help keeping it a one-goal game in the first period, having two goals overturned on coaching challenges and two others denied a goal post and crossbar.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How to watch Latvia, Merzlikins play Sweden at Milano Cortina 2026
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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