Today at 7:00 a.m. ET, Finland and Sweden faceoff live from the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi for men's ice hockey semifinal action as part of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The game can be live streamed for free here.
Finland and Sweden take the ice with a trip to the gold medal game on the line. Finland went 2-0-1 in group play before knocking off host Russia 3-1 in the quarterfinals while Sweden is unbeaten and advanced to semifinals with a 5-0 drudging of Slovenia on Wednesday. These teams have plenty of history, with Sweden defeating Finland in the 2006 Turin Games to earn Olympic gold.
The winner of this game meets the winner of the Canada-United States game Sunday for the gold.
Finland is looking to build off of their bronze medal finish in the 2010 Vancouver Games and will try to win this game in order for a chance to win a gold medal for the first time in history.
The Finns have been carried by some key veterans, including 43-year-old Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne.
"When we came here, nobody believed in us and it doesn't matter," Selanne, in his sixth Olympics, told NHL.com after the game against Russia. "Our team believes, and I always say the gap is not very big with these top teams. It is a good feeling."
Selanne has 20 points for the Ducks in 47 games this season off of seven goals and 13 assists.
Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins is likely to man the crease for the Finns as he's started three of the team's four games and was sharp against Russia, stopping 37 of 38 shots. Rask is 25-13-4 through 43 games for the Bruins this season with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
The lone loss for Finland in the tournament came at the hands of Canada in a 2-1 overtime defeat Sunday that ended up deciding Group B. The Finns have outscored their opponents 18-8 in the tournament, but will be without 18-year-old rookie Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers).
On paper, it looks like Sweden has been thriving in the Sochi Games as they look for their second gold medal in three tournaments, but they have had some close encounters only to pull away late in most of their games. Still, the Swedes have outscored their opponents 15-5 and are unbeaten in the Games, so the team has shown a knack to turn it on when it needs to.
Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks scored a key goal for the Swedes in the third period of their quarterfinal game, ending a long goal-scoring drought in the Olympics and NHL play.
"I lost count," Sedin said about his goal-scoring drought, which spanned 22 games in the NHL and at the Olympics, according to the Detroit Free Press. "It was a good feeling. It's my job to score. It's nice to get it over."
Sedin has played in all 60 games for Vancouver this season and has 40 points off of 13 goals and 27 assists.
The Swedes will be without captain Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings), who suffered a herniated disc in the preliminary round against the Czech Republic.
Henrik Lundqvist will once again be between the pipes for Sweden after posting a .948 save percentage thus far in the tournament and recording 19 saves in a shutout of Slovenia. Lundqvist is 22-18-3 through 44 games for the New York Rangers this season with a 2.44 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
A trip to the gold medal game is on the line when Finland and Sweden hit the ice at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi today as part of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
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