Colorado Avalanche fans had a lot to look forward to on Day Four of the Preliminary Round at the Olympics.

The day would get started with Gabriel Landeskog and then Artturi Lehkonen. Brock Nelson and the Americans brought a wrap to the day against Denmark with a high-scoring affair.

Team Sweden vs. Team Slovakia

After an embarrassing loss to the Finns on Friday, the Swedes needed a game to get back on track. Against the Slovaks, their final group play match offered perfect timing. Sweden would take it to the Slovaks right away with a shorthanded goal from Joel Eriksson Ek. Juraj Slafkovský responded a minute later with his third goal of the tournament to tie the game before the intermission.

Seven minutes into the second, Pavol Regenda would take a seat in the box for a kneeing penalty. This put the Swedes on the power play, where Adrian Kempe scored in only five seconds. Two minutes later, Martin Gernat netted his first of the tournament to tie the game at two apiece. Elias Pettersson finally showed up with his first goal late in the second to regain the lead for the Swedes.

Pettersson still had more to do. He added his second of the game with 12 minutes left in the game to secure a two-goal lead. Lucas Raymond of the Red Wings tacked on the insurance goal for Sweden for a 5–2 lead. Dalibor Dvorsky would net one more for the Slovaks and, by doing so, secure their top spot in Group B in the semi-finals despite a loss. Gabriel Landeskog would end the game with no points but would be plus-two.

Team Finland vs. Team Italy

Team Finland put the pedal to the metal on Saturday with a blow win over Team Italy. The Finns kept their momentum from their victory over the Swedes going with 11 goals. Four players saw multi-goal games, including Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta. Artturi Lehkonen walked away from the game with three points himself (1g/2a). It was not much of a competition from the Italians in front of their home crowd as they lost their third game in a row. Team Italy unfortunately will see the end of their tournament as Team Finland will move on from group play.

Team USA vs. Team Denmark

Saturday was the first time that Team Denmark had to play Team USA in the tournament. Tensions were high coming into the game already, but the Danes only took 1:40 to net their first of the game. Nick Olesen crashed the net and forced the puck past Jeremy Swayman to gain the early lead. Not even two minutes later, Quinn Hughes drew all eyes to the right side as Matt Boldy took off down the left. Hughes sent a pass to, and he wrapped around and threw it past Mads Sogaard to tie the game.

The Danes kept their pressure up. As they were going for a change halfway through the period, Nicholas Jensen dumped the puck into the American zone on Swayman. The Bruins’ goaltender never saw the puck coming as the Danes took the lead.

The Americans struggled to get any momentum going in the first half of the second period. But one face-off win by Jack Echel changed that. He would win the draw, pushing it to Brady Tkachuk, who shot behind the screen for the tying goal. Only 57 seconds later, Eichel won another draw and pushed his way past the Dane to shoot for the leading goal. With just under three minutes left in the middle frame, USA rushed into the zone and Noah Hanifin snapped a shot from the slot into Sogaard’s five-hole to make it 4–2. In the last face-off of the period with three seconds left, the Danes pushed it back to Phillip Bruggisser, who threw it past Swayman to draw them within one.

Both sides put up a defensive effort to start the final frame of the game. Eight minutes into the period, USA put on some smothering pressure in the Danish zone. Auston Matthews worked his way behind the goal and sent a pass up to Jake Guentzel for the finish from the slot and the 5–3 lead. With a little over five minutes left, Brock Nelson sent a pass up to Jack Hughes. He went behind the net and threw it off the back of the goalie to net the Americans’ sixth goal of the night.

Up Next

It will be another three-game set for Avalanche fans on Sunday as preliminary play wraps up. Team Switzerland and Team Czechia get you started early at 4 a.m. with Team Canada and Team France starting at 8:30 a.m. Sunday’s last game with Avs players will be USA against Germany at 1 p.m.