Today at 12:00 p.m. ET, Slovakia and The Czech Republic faceoff live from the Shayba Arena in Sochi for men's ice hockey as part of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The game can be live streamed for free here.
With a trip to the quarterfinals to take on the United States on Wednesday up for grabs, the veteran Czech Republic team finds itself having to win a play-in game as the No.7 seed while Slovakia enters play in search of its first tournament win after losing all three of its group games.
With Slovakia losing 7-1 to the United States and falling to Slovenia in its first ever Olympic hockey win, the Slovaks turned to goaltender Jen Laco of the KHL over NHL netminders Jaroslav Halak (St. Louis Blues) and Peter Budaj (Montreal Canadiens), and he almost stole the game from Russia Sunday before falling 1-0 in a shootout.
"[Laco] was amazing. He kept us in the game," defenseman Andrej Meszaros of the Philadelphia Flyers said per NHL.com. "We had some chances, but we helped him too defensively. That's what teams do. The goalie helps us, and we help the goalie."
Laco made 15 of his 36 total saves in the third period to help edge Russia into a qualifying-round game against Norway.
"I really thought we had good bounce-back after [Saturday against Slovenia]," captain Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins) said via NHL.com. "We just have to build on that and get ready for our next opponent. You always have a chance in this tournament no matter what you do in your first games. You can still move along if you win that do-or-die game. We have to get ready for that."
Chara has 26 points through 54 games for the Bruins this season off of 13 goals and 13 assists.
The Czech Republic will be looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Switzerland on Saturday, and could be a bit frustrated coming into the game as their high hopes have seen them get saddled with the seventh seed.
"Both teams had their chances, but I think we had a little bit more," said Czech goalie Ondrej Pavelec (Winnipeg Jets), who made 25 saves on Saturday, according to NHL.com. "Their goalie played really well, and we hit the post twice. If you don't score a goal, you can't win. I think they have a good defensive system, and it is tough to play against them when they score a goal [early]."
The Czechs hope to have Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils) back in the lineup after he's been sidelined with an illness. Devils teammate Jaromir Jagr has two goals for the Czechs in the tournament and has been a leader for the team.
Jagr has 49 points through 59 games for the Devils this season off of 17 goals and 32 assists.
Slovakia and The Czech Republic look to advance to a quarterfinal matchup with the United States when the puck drops today in Sochi as part of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
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