Slovakia vs. Canada
Despite odds of more than 80/1 to win gold before the tournament started, the surprising Slovakians have already defeated the Russians and Swedes, ranked No. 1 and No. 3 by the IIHF.
Canada came out firing against a Russian team en route to a 7-3 victory. TSN hockey expert Bob McKenzie described the first period as ?without question the most emotionally-charged, dominant 20 minutes of Olympic hockey I have seen played by a Canadian team against a quality opponent since the NHL started going to the Olympics in 1998.?
Role-ing over
Canada is the clear favorite, but they also must face the pressure of playing on home ice against a Slovakian team that has embraced the role of underdog.
"We will be playing a Canadian team with a lot of confidence," Slovakian defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky told TSN. "They also have big pressure. For us it's a lot of fun and we've got a lot of confidence."
The Slovaks know they will have to hang in the game early on and hope for the best.
?Right now they are the best team out there," Slovakian forward Marian Gaborik told reporters. "They will come at you hard in the first period. The most important thing is the first 10 or 15 minutes.?
Underdogs = Under, dawg
Team Canada has four lines that can score. In fact, they managed seven goals without Sidney Crosby registering a point.
If Slovakia is going to compete, they must execute their gameplan: play defense, control the puck and lean heavily on Jaroslav Halak.
?We are playing a simple game. We are not doing anything bad in our zone and everything is working," Slovak forward Ziggy Palffy told reporters.
Netting a win
Roberto Luongo has been Canada?s best goalie in these Olympics, but has yet to deal with the pressure of a close game.
For Slovakia, Jaroslav Halak will have to stand on his head.
"He's the biggest player for our hockey team. He plays unbelievable," forward Marian Hossa told reporters. "Hopefully he can keep his form and we can help him out."
One key stat: Jaroslav Halak is 7-0 for the Montreal Canadiens this season when facing 40 or more shots in a game.
Despite odds of more than 80/1 to win gold before the tournament started, the surprising Slovakians have already defeated the Russians and Swedes, ranked No. 1 and No. 3 by the IIHF.
Canada came out firing against a Russian team en route to a 7-3 victory. TSN hockey expert Bob McKenzie described the first period as ?without question the most emotionally-charged, dominant 20 minutes of Olympic hockey I have seen played by a Canadian team against a quality opponent since the NHL started going to the Olympics in 1998.?
Role-ing over
Canada is the clear favorite, but they also must face the pressure of playing on home ice against a Slovakian team that has embraced the role of underdog.
"We will be playing a Canadian team with a lot of confidence," Slovakian defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky told TSN. "They also have big pressure. For us it's a lot of fun and we've got a lot of confidence."
The Slovaks know they will have to hang in the game early on and hope for the best.
?Right now they are the best team out there," Slovakian forward Marian Gaborik told reporters. "They will come at you hard in the first period. The most important thing is the first 10 or 15 minutes.?
Underdogs = Under, dawg
Team Canada has four lines that can score. In fact, they managed seven goals without Sidney Crosby registering a point.
If Slovakia is going to compete, they must execute their gameplan: play defense, control the puck and lean heavily on Jaroslav Halak.
?We are playing a simple game. We are not doing anything bad in our zone and everything is working," Slovak forward Ziggy Palffy told reporters.
Netting a win
Roberto Luongo has been Canada?s best goalie in these Olympics, but has yet to deal with the pressure of a close game.
For Slovakia, Jaroslav Halak will have to stand on his head.
"He's the biggest player for our hockey team. He plays unbelievable," forward Marian Hossa told reporters. "Hopefully he can keep his form and we can help him out."
One key stat: Jaroslav Halak is 7-0 for the Montreal Canadiens this season when facing 40 or more shots in a game.
