Today at 12:00 p.m. ET (USA), the Czech Republic men's ice hockey team faces off with Sweden live from the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia in Group C action for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The game can be live streamed here.
The Czech Republic team is a veteran-driven group while Sweden enters play with a dynamic mix of players looking to win the gold for the first time since 2006.
The Czech Republic enters this game with two players coming in over the age of 40 in Jaromir Jagr and Petr Nedved while four of their players hit the ice at or over the age of 35, including Patrik Elias who is expecting a tight game.
"Really, it's going to be very close," Elias told The Associated Press. "You can't predict you're going to beat any one team, so you go into the tournament thinking you can beat anyone."
Jagr leads the New Jersey Devils with 49 points off of 17 goals and 32 points so far this season.
The Swedes enter play will be without key players Henrik Sedin and Johan Franzen due to injury, but will hope to ride the back of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who led them to the gold medal in 2006 and had a 1.34 goals-against average and .927 save percentage at the Vancouver Games in 2010 where Sweden fell to Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
"You've been thinking about it for months, but now you can really start to mentally prepare for what is ahead," Lundqvist told BlueshirtsUnited.com prior to arriving in Sochi. "It's going to be a great challenge and a great experience. I really look forward to going over there and competing."
Lundqvist is 22-18-3 for the New York Rangers this season with a 2.44 GAA and a .918 save percentage. He'll be opposed by Ondrej Pavelec, who is 18-22-4 for the Winnipeg Jets this season with a 2.97 GAA and a .901 save percentage.
The Czech Republic and Sweden kick off their Olympic journeys today against one another in Sochi.
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