In a tournament where every goal can swing the standings, Dalibor Dvorsky delivered one that might just echo through the rest of the Olympics - even if it came in a game Slovakia technically lost.
With 39 seconds left on the clock and Slovakia trailing Sweden 5-2 in their final Group B matchup at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Dvorsky cashed in on a power play, cutting the deficit to two. On the surface, it was a consolation goal. But dig a little deeper, and you'll see it may have just flipped the script on the entire group.
Here’s why it mattered: Sweden needed to win by at least three goals to clinch first place in Group B, thanks to the tournament's tiebreaker rules. When Dvorsky found the back of the net, that margin vanished - and with it, Sweden’s grip on the top seed.
The Swedes, realizing what was at stake, even pulled their goalie in a last-ditch effort to restore the three-goal lead. It didn’t work.
So while the scoreboard read 5-3 in favor of Sweden, it was Slovakia who might’ve walked away with the bigger prize. Depending on how the rest of the group shakes out, that late goal could be the difference between a more favorable matchup in the knockout round or a tougher road ahead. In Olympic hockey, those margins matter - a lot.
The goal itself came off a chaotic sequence, with Slovakia pushing hard in the final minutes. Juraj Slafkovsky, who’s been a force throughout the tournament, was once again in the mix.
He’s now tied with Canada’s Connor McDavid for the tournament lead in points, each with six. After the game, Slafkovsky summed it up perfectly: “It’s probably the best loss I ever had.
It’s crazy, but we take it.”
As for Dvorsky, this was a moment that could define his Olympic debut. The 20-year-old forward - a top prospect in the St.
Louis Blues organization - now has four points in three games, all while competing in one of the tournament’s toughest groups. He’s showing the kind of poise and production that teams dream about when they draft a young center with top-line upside.
Asked about the goal, Dvorsky kept it simple: “There was not too much tactics, right? And at this point of the game, just try to get pucks to the net. And at the end, it was a rebound that was the goal.”
Sometimes, it really is that simple. Get pucks on net.
Create chaos. Cash in.
And in this case, maybe win the group in the process.
Slovakia may not have won the game, but they played the long game - and Dvorsky’s goal might end up being the turning point that reshapes their Olympic journey.