Raymond debuts as Sweden narrowly escapes underdog Italy's spirited challenge. Dominant shots mask offensive struggles in a tense Olympic opening victory.

Canucks' Kevin Lankinen and Finland lost 4-1 to Slovakia, while Elias Pettersson and Sweden won 5-2 against Italy in their first games of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

In the end, Team Italy lost to Team Sweden 5-2 at Santagiulia Arena on Wednesday in the first of three preliminary games for each team at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The result was expected.

Anna Hasselborg and her Swedish women's curling team are back for their third Winter Games and are on the hunt for a third Olympic medal, but this time they are travelling with a much larger entourage.

Italy opens up the tournament against the Swedes on Wednesday in the biggest David vs. Goliath matchup in the preliminaries.

Follow live text, BBC TV coverage, radio commentary, reaction and updates from the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

Figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates took the silver medal in ice dancing, with Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France taking the gold. Jordan Stolz won gold and set an Olympic record in men’s 1,000-meter speedskating.