Slovakia clinches first place in Group B, the United States survives a scare against Denmark, Latvia upsets Germany, and more Olympic Men’s hockey coverage in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPPING SATURDAY’S OLYMPIC MEN’S HOCKEY ACTION.

NHL.COM: Slovakia dropped a hard-fought 5-3 decision against Sweden, but a last-minute goal by Dalibor Dvorsky enabled them to clinch first place in Group B based on goal differential. Juraj Slafkovsky and Martin Gernat each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Samuel Hlavaj kicked out 46 of 51 shots for Slovakia (2-0-0-1), who advance to the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Slovakia winger Juraj Slafkovsky (AP.com).

Lucas Raymond had a goal and two assists, Elias Pettersson tallied twice, Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots for Sweden (2-0-0-1), who finished third in the Group and will play in the qualification round on Tuesday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Slovakia has exceeded expectations in this tournament. Despite the loss to Sweden, they were overjoyed when Dvorsky scored what proved to be the clinching goal in Group B. “It’s probably the best loss I ever had,” joked Slafkovsky, who finished Saturday tied with Canada’s Connor McDavid for the tournament scoring lead with six points.

The United States overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Denmark 6-3. Jack Eichel led the way with a goal and an assist. At the same time, Matt Boldy, Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, and Jake Guentzel also scored for Team USA (2-0-0-2), who can clinch first place in Group C and a bye to the quarterfinals with anything other than a regulation loss to Germany on Sunday. Nick Olesen, Nicholas Jensen, and Phillip Bruggieser scored for Denmark, who are winless through two games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Team USA seemed disjointed in the first period, during which Swayman gave up a 95-foot shot that gave the Danes a 2-1 lead. They may have been guilty of taking the Danes lightly, but they took over the game thanks to Eichel and Tkachuk in the second period.

The Danes made it interesting through two periods, narrowing the Americans’ lead to 4-3 by the end of the second period before Guentzel and Hughes put the game out of reach. Danish goalie Mads Sogaard stopped 32 of 37 shots before leaving the game in the third period with an injury.

Latvia (1-0-0-1) got two goals from Dans Locmelis, Zemgus Girgensons collected two assists, and Arturs Silovs made 26 saves as they held on to upset Germany 4-3, giving their country its first Olympic win in men’s hockey since 2014. Lukas Reichel, Lukas Kalble, and Tim Stutzle replied for Germany, who are also 1-0-0-1.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Germany faces the United States on Sunday and could clinch first place in Group C with a regulation win. Latvia will meet Denmark on Sunday.

Finland (2-0-0-1) clinched second place in Group B by crushing Italy 11-0. Sebastian Aho, Mikael Granlund, Kaapo Kakko, and Joel Kiviranta each scored twice while Juuse Saros had a 15-save shutout. Italy lost all three of its games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Finland played without forwards Anton Lundell and Oliver Kapanen. They were kept out of this game because Lundell was sick and Kapanen is his roommate.

Italian forward Cristiano Digiacinto didn’t play in this game. He was serving a one-game suspension for hitting Slovakia’s Martin Fehervary in the head on Friday.

IN OTHER NEWS…

SPORTSNET: Switzerland’s Kevin Fiala is done for the season after undergoing surgery on Saturday for a leg injury suffered during Friday’s loss to Canada.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It is also a significant loss for the Los Angeles Kings. Fiala is one of their leading scorers, and his absence could affect their efforts to clinch a playoff berth in the Western Conference.

The Kings made a significant addition to bolster their offense by acquiring Artemi Panarin before the Olympic break. Fiala’s injury could send them back into the trade market once the Olympic roster freeze is lifted at midnight on Feb. 22.

TSN: Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey will sit out Sunday’s game against France, but he hasn’t been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.

Canadian coach Jon Cooper said winger Brad Marchand will be back in the lineup on Sunday. The 37-year-old winger was a healthy scratch during Friday’s game against Switzerland.