MILAN, Italy — Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Canada are rolling into the knockout round at the Olympics as the best team in the tournament.

They may have put the top seed out of the Americans’ reach.

Crosby and McDavid each had a goal and two assists in a clinical, businesslike 10-2 dismantling of France on Sunday. Canada finished round robin play unbeaten, outscoring opponents by 17 goals over three games.

“We did what we came to do,” said McDavid, who leads all scorers in Milan. “We came to win a hockey game and continue to get better.”

The blowout also included Tom Wilson fighting the player who delivered a forearm to Nathan MacKinnon’s face a couple of minutes earlier. MacKinnon returned and Wilson was ejected, since fighting is a game misconduct under international rules, but the already popular teammate earned even more respect inside Canada’s locker room.

“He’s going to stick up for his guys,” forward Sam Bennett said. “He’s a leader on this team, and he’s a guy that’s going to protect our guys and do whatever it takes for our team.”

The U.S. would need to beat Germany by 10 or more goals on Sunday night to overtake Canada for the No. 1 seed. A win of any kind short of that would put the U.S. second and on a crash course to face seventh-seeded Sweden in the quarterfinals, and an unexpected regulation loss would shake up the already surprising standings.

Sweden is quite the formidable opponent, though Canada showed in the preliminary round that it has the skill, size and finishing ability to skate any other team in Milan out of the building. McDavid has nine points in his first nine periods to lead all scorers at his first Olympics, and Crosby has been great at 38 in his third looking to go 3 for 3 in gold medals.

“Sid’s playing great,” McDavid said. “Everybody’s playing really, really well. The team’s playing well. We’re in a good place right now.”

Macklin Celebrini, Canada’s youngest player at 19, scored on a penalty shot and on the power play against France to give him four goals in three games. Wilson, picked by coach Jon Cooper to ride shotgun on the top line on McDavid’s right wing, also had a goal, an assist and some big hits.

Mark Stone scored short-handed with 3.4 seconds left in the first period and had two assists. Brandon Hagel had Canada’s ninth goal in the third before Celebrini scored the 10th.

Canada outshot France 46-13, making life as easy as possible on goaltender Jordan Binnington, who might want the second goal back but should still be in net Wednesday in the quarterfinals, likely against Czechia or Germany.

Swiss win for Fiala

Rallying around the absence of injured winger Kevin Fiala, Switzerland beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime to give itself an easy path to the quarterfinals.

Winning the preliminary round finale means captain Roman Josi’s team will almost certainly face France or also winless host Italy in the qualification playoffs Tuesday.

“We knew it was a big game,” said Josi, the Nashville Predators’ defenseman who scored Switzerland’s first goal by banking the puck off Radko Gudas’ left skate and in. “Obviously a lot of up and downs in that third period but found a way. It was a huge win against a really good team.”

Former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dean Kukan scored the overtime winner. In 172 NHL regular-season and playoff games, he had just six goals and ranked this one top three in his career.

“I was first thinking about passing, but (Czechia’s Radek Simek) gave me a little bit too much room,” Kukan said. “The shot from there is always dangerous.”

Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils and Pius Suter of the St. Louis Blues also scored for Switzerland, and 38-year-old national team goaltender Leonardo Genoni stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced.

Fiala, the Los Angeles Kings’ second-leading scorer, had surgery to repair what the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation only called a lower left leg injury. He sent his teammates a video message from his hospital bed, and coach Patrick Fischer hopes Fiala is back at the athletes’ village Monday.

“He’s still with us,” said Nico Hischer, who captains the Devils in the NHL. “We’ll play for him. And obviously you hate to see injury like that. He’s one of our best players, so it’s obviously a tough loss for us. But we know he’s still engaged with us, and he’ll cheer us on.”

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Want to follow the section madness that produces the Minnesota high school boys hockey state tournament teams?

This is your one stop shop with daily updates for all 16 sections in Class A and Class 2A.

Brackets will be updated here with results through the quarterfinals, semis and section title games over the next two weeks as teams attempt to punch their tickets to downtown St. Paul.

Class 2A section brackets

Section 1AA

Quarterfinals, Feb. 19

No. 8 Austin at No. 1 Farmington, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Owatonna at No. 4 New Prague, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Rochester Mayo at No. 2 Lakeville South, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Rochester Century/John Marshall at No. 3 Lakeville North, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21

Final, Feb. 26 at Rochester Rec Center, 7 p.m.

Section 2AA

Quarterfinals, Feb. 18

No. 8 Chaska at No. 1 Minnetonka, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Prior Lake at No. 4 Eden Prairie, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Bloomington Jefferson at No. 2 Shakopee, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Holy Family at No. 3 Chanhassen, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Braemar Arena

Final, Feb. 26 at Ridder Arena, 6 p.m.

Section 3AA

Quarterfinals, Feb. 17

No. 8 Apple Valley/Burnsville at No. 1 Rosemount, 6 p.m.

No. 5 Eastview at No. 4 Eagan, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Two Rivers at No. 2 St. Thomas Academy, 6 p.m.

No. 6 Park at No. 3 Cretin-Derham Hall, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 20 at Bloomington Ice Garden

Final, Feb 24 at University of St. Thomas, 7 p.m.

Section 4AA

Quarterfinals, Feb. 21 at Aldrich Arena

No. 8 Mounds View vs. No. 1 Hill-Murray, 11 a.m.

No. 5 Gentry Academy vs. No. 4 East Ridge, 7:30 p.m.

No. 7 Woodbury vs. No. 2 Stillwater, 1:30 p.m.

No. 6 Roseville vs. No. 3 White Bear Lake, 5 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 25 at Aldrich Arena

Final, Feb. 27 at Aldrich Arena, 7 p.m.

Section 5AA

Quarterfinals, Feb. 18

No. 8 Anoka at No. 1 Maple Grove, 3 p.m.

No. 5 Andover at No. 4 Totino-Grace, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids at No. 2 Blaine, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Champlin Park at No. 3 Centennial, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Furniture and Things Community Event Center

Final, Feb. 26 at Furniture and Things Community Event Center, 7 p.m.

Section 6AA

Quarterfinals

No. 8 Hopkins at No. 1 Rogers, 7 p.m. on Feb. 18

No. 5 Buffalo at No. 4 Wayzata, 7 p.m. on Feb. 18

No. 7 AC Wings at No. 2 Edina, 7 p.m. on Feb. 19

No. 6 Benilde-St. Margaret’s at No. 3 Holy Angels, 7 p.m. on Feb. 18

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Bloomington Ice Garden

Final, Feb. 25 at Ridder Arena

Section 7AA

Quarterfinals, Feb. 17

No. 8 Northern Edge at No. 1 Grand Rapids, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Duluth Marshall at No. 4 Forest Lake, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Cambridge-Isanti at No. 2 Rock Ridge, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Duluth Denfeld at No. 3 Duluth East, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Amsoil Arena

Final, Feb. 26 at Amsoil Arena, 7 p.m.

Section 8AA

Quarterfinals, Feb. 17

No. 8 Alexandria at No. 1 Moorhead, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Bemidji at No. 4 St. Cloud, 7:15 p.m.

No. 7 Brainerd at No. 2 St. Michael-Albertville, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Roseau at No. 3 Elk River/Zimmerman, 5 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21

Final, Feb. 25, 7 p.m.

Class A section brackets

Section 1A

Round 1, Feb. 17

No. 9 Faribault at No. 8 La Crescent-Hokah, 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals, Feb. 19

Round 1 winner at No. 1 Northfield, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Albert Lea at No. 4 Rochester Lourdes, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Red Wing at No. 2 Waseca, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Winona at No. 3 Dodge County, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Rochester Rec Center

Final, Feb. 25, 7 p.m. at Rochester Rec Center

Section 2A

Round 1, Feb. 17

No. 9 Westonka/Watertown-Mayer at No. 8 Waconia, 7 p.m.

No. 10 Southwest Christian at No. 7 Providence Academy, 7 p.m.

No. 11 Hutchinson at No. 6 Minneapolis, 6:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals, Feb. 19

Westonka/Watertown OR Waconia at Delano, 7:15 p.m.

No. 5 Orono at No. 4 St. Louis Park, 7 p.m.

SWC OR Providence at No. 2 Blake, 7 p.m.

Minneapolis OR Hutchinson at No. 3 Breck, 7:15 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 24 at St. Louis Park Rec Center

Final, Feb. 26 at St. Louis Park Rec Center, 7 p.m.

Section 3A

Round 1, Feb. 17

No. 9 Redwood Valley at No. 8 Windom Area, 7 p.m.

No. 10 Worthington at No. 7 Fairmont, 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals, Feb. 19

Redwood Valley OR Windom at Luverne, 7 p.m.

No. 5 New Ulm at No. 4 Minnesota River Bulldogs, 7 p.m.

Fairmont OR Worthington at No. 2 Mankato West, 7:15 p.m.

No. 6 Marshall at No. 3 Mankato East, 5 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Don Roberts Ice Rink

Final, Feb. 25 at Don Roberts Ice Rink, 7:30 p.m.

Section 4A

Round 1, Feb. 17 at Aldrich Arena

No. 9 St. Paul vs. No. 8 Osseo, 7:30 p.m.

No. 10 St. Paul Academy vs. No. 7 Simley, 5 p.m.

Quarterfinals at Aldrich Arena

Osseo OR St. Paul vs. No. 1 Mahtomedi, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m.

No. 5 South St. Paul vs. No. 4 Hastings, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Simley OR SPA vs. No. 2 Chisago Lakes, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m.

No. 6 Tartan vs. No. 3 Irondale, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 24 at Aldrich Arena

Final, Feb. 26 at Aldrich Arena, 7 p.m.

Section 5A

Round 1, Feb. 14

No. 8 Princeton 6, No. 9 Mora, Milaca, Braham 1

Quarterfinals, Feb. 17

No. 8 Princeton at No. 1 St. Cloud Cathedral, 5 p.m.

No. 5 Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato at No. 4 Sauk Rapids-Rice, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Becker-Big Lake at No. 2 Monticello, 7 p.m.

No. 6 River Lakes at No. 3 Pine City, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21

Final, Feb. 25 at Elk River Arena, 7 p.m.

Section 6A

Round 1, Feb. 14

No. 8 Morris Benson Area 9, No. 9 Wadena-Deer Creek 2

Quarterfinals, Feb. 17

No. 8 Morris Benson Area at No. 1 Sartell, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Prairie Centre at No. 4 Little Falls, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Breckenridge/Wahpeton at No. 2 Northern Lakes, 6 p.m.

No. 6 Willmar at No. 3 Fergus Falls, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at St. Cloud MAC

Final, Feb. 26 at St. Cloud MAC, 7 p.m.

Section 7A

Round 1, Feb. 14

No. 8 Ely 13, No. 9 Moose Lake Area 6

Quarterfinals, Feb. 17

No. 8 Ely at No. 1 Hibbing/Chisholm, 6 p.m.

No. 5 International Falls at No. 4 Proctor, 6 p.m.

No. 7 North Shore at No. 2 Hermantown, 6 p.m.

No. 6 Greenway at No. 3 C-E-C, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Amsoil Arena

Final, Feb. 25 at Amsoil Arena, 7 p.m.

Section 8A

Round 1, Feb. 14

No. 8 Park Rapids 6, No. 9 Kittson County Central, 5

No. 7 Red Lake Falls 10, No. 10 Lake of the Woods 1

Quarterfinals, Feb. 17

No. 8 Park Rapids at No. 1 Warroad, 6 p.m.

No. 5 Crookston at No. 4 Thief River Falls, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Red Lake Falls at No. 2 East Grand Forks, 6 p.m.

No. 6 Bagley/Fosston at No. 3 Detroit Lakes, 7 p.m.

Semifinals, Feb. 21 at Ralph Engelstad Arena

Final, Feb. 26 at Ralph Engelstad Arena, 7 p.m.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The wall of Byron Buxton’s gym at home in his native Baxley, Ga., received a new decoration this winter: the results of the 2025 American League Most Valuable Player voting. They show Buxton in 11th place, just two points away from what would have been his first top-10 finish.

It may not be the most aesthetically-pleasing décor, but it serves an important purpose for Buxton.

“I was pissed. I ain’t going to lie to you,” the Twins’ center fielder said. “You surprised yourself a little bit and thought you put yourself in a good position, and you didn’t. It’s fire.”

As Buxton prepares for his 12th major league season in a Twins uniform, he’s not shying away from the fact that the results of the voting weren’t the only thing he wasn’t particularly happy with this offseason. He also did not enjoy seeing his name in trade rumors following a season during which he had pledged his loyalty publicly to the organization that drafted him.

“If you know me and you know who I am, I don’t like my name being blasted around all the time,” Buxton said. “So this offseason for me was a little different — peaceful, but different.”

At the beginning of the offseason, the direction the Twins were going to take wasn’t fully yet known. Asked in September if he expected starters Pablo López and Joe Ryan to be on the roster in 2026, then-president of business and baseball operations Derek Falvey said it was his “hope” three times, but that it required some “ongoing conversations with ownership.”

It wasn’t until December that Twins officials started to publicly declare that they planned to hang onto Buxton, López and Ryan and build around them rather than continue to tear apart the club, putting trade speculation to rest.

That is something it seems as if Buxton would have liked to have heard earlier.

“All it takes is for somebody at the top to go to the media (and say) ‘We’re not trading you,’ ” Buxton said. “Trade rumors stop. Now, we don’t have those conversations. That’s how simple this could get. … It’s different. It’s different.”

Now, in camp, that’s behind Buxton and the Twins.

Buxton met up in November with new manager Derek Shelton in Jacksonville, Fla., about two hours from Baxley, and Shelton communicated to him that he was part of the team’s plans. New executive chair Tom Pohlad also paid him a visit.

The center fielder spent the offseason at home training, with some travel sprinkled in. A trip to Disney World was among the highlights. Buxton, who described himself as “not a rollercoaster person,” went on a Little Mermaid-themed ride with his youngest son, Baire, while the rest of the family hit up the more high-speed rides like TRON Lightcycle.

Right after he returned home from Orlando, Fla., he received a call from Mark DeRosa, the manager of the United States’ World Baseball Classic team. He jumped at the chance to join the team.

“To be able to have that opportunity, to be able to put that jersey on, finally, is something special,” he said.

To get himself ready for it, he said he started preparing probably a month earlier than normal. He’ll be gone for much of camp — the tournament runs from March 5-17 but teams congregate earlier to train together and play exhibition games. But when he returns, he will yet again be the heart and soul of the Twins’ roster.

“It’s very important to me that he is a Minnesota Twin. As important, it’s important to him,” Shelton said. “He said it publicly prior to me being here. He said it publicly after I got here. … We want him to be a Minnesota Twin. He made a commitment to the organization, and the organization made a commitment to him.”

MILAN, Italy — Sweden women’s hockey coach Ulf Lundberg has plenty of confidence in the challenge ahead.

In outlining how fearless his young and talented group has performed in going 5-0 to reach the semifinals at the Milan Cortina Games, Lundberg made a bold suggestion in preparing to face the top-ranked and tournament-favored Americans on Monday.

“(The Americans) are just human beings,” Lundberg said immediately following a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Czechia on Friday. “It’s a fantastic challenge. And I don’t really think that the U.S. team wants to meet us right now.”

While anything is possible in a one-game knockout, the Swedes beating the U.S. would represent a significant upset.

As for Team USA’s response to Lundberg’s comment, coach John Wroblewski said he’s eager and ready to play whoever is next.

“We’re ready to play against anybody, and we’re excited to play anybody,” he said. “I think that the hunger and the gamesmanship of which they’ve shown to persevere through the relegation pool is admirable. And of course we respect that.”

Defending Olympic champion Canada will play Switzerland in the other semifinal, with the winners advancing to the gold medal game on Thursday.

The tournament’s semifinal matchups are the same as the 2014 Sochi Games, when Canada went on to defeat Switzerland and then claim gold on Marie-Philip Poulin’s overtime goal in a 3-2 win over the U.S.

What’s different this time is the dominance the United States has shown in a tournament beginning to resemble more of a coronation for the two-time gold medal winners.

The Americans have won five games by a combined margin of 26-1, including a 5-0 victory over rival Canada. And they haven’t allowed a goal since Barbora Jurickova scored on a breakaway 8:37 into second period in a 5-1 win over Czechia in both teams’ tournament opener on Feb. 5.

The Americans have shown no fear against anyone.

“We have one goal in mind, and that’s to bring home a gold medal,” defender Megan Keller said. “So whoever’s in our way, we’re going to focus on ourselves.”

Four years after Canada dominated in winning gold at Beijing, the U.S. has raised women’s hockey to another level with a multi-faceted attack that overwhelms opponents in waves and features a swift, playmaking group of defenders driving the offense.

The U.S. has four players in the tournament’s top 10 in points, with three of them defenders, including Caroline Harvey, who leads all players with nine points (2 goals, 7 assists).

Wroblewski’s biggest fear is overconfidence.

“There needs to be a lot of respect for the treachery and how fragile it is between success and not. You can’t take anything for granted,” he said. “It’s really good to have confidence, because confidence is earned. But we’ve got to make sure that these one-game sets, they’re volatile. … We’re nowhere near the end.”

The Swedes are on the rise under Lundberg and feature a young, brash, talented core that includes seven players still competing at the U.S. college ranks. Much like the U.S., Sweden won five games by a combined margin of 20-2, but had a comparatively easier schedule in the Group B bracket.

The team now has a chance to earn its third Olympic medal and first since winning silver in 2006, when Sweden upset the U.S. in the semifinals.

Lundberg’s confidence reflects that of his players, who’ve been instilled with the vision of being honey badgers.

“The honey badger is chasing lions and elephants and everyone away. And they are scared of the honey badger because he or she has a totally (fearless) mentality,” Lundberg said. “And so we need to have that (fearless) mentality, because in Sweden we’re a little laid back and humble. But in the game of hockey, you have to take the lead.”

Related Articles

Olympic men’s hockey: Slovakia opens play with upset of Finland

Olympic women’s hockey: U.S. blanks arch-rival Canada

‘Miracle’ teammates continue work of late teammate Mark Pavelich

Olympic women’s hockey: U.S. stays perfect by blanking Switzerland

Olympic women’s hockey: Knight ties mark as U.S. blanks Finland