The men’s Olympic hockey tournament began today, with Sweden defeating the Czech Republic 4-2 and Switzerland sneaking past Latvia 1-0 on a Simon Moser goal with 7.9 seconds remaining in the game. The fun continues early Thursday morning with all six Kings in action as the United States faces Slovakia (4:30 a.m. / NBCSN), Russia takes on Slovenia (4:30 a.m. / MSNBC) and Canada opens the tournament against Norway (9:00 a.m. / USA Network).
Canada should face little resistance against a Norwegian team whose only NHL-based player is New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello.
Earlier today NHL Live previewed Canada-Norway, paying particular attention to Jeff Carter’s spot to the right of Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz.
As for Russia-Slovenia, Dan Rosen of NHL.com predicts the Russians will win in a rout, which isn’t a stretch at all. A brief preview:
Anze Kopitar was profiled on NHL Revealed, and prior to heading to the dentist’s office to get work done following some Willie Mitchell-inflicted damage, he spoke about representing his country and playing for his father.
As noted earlier, Jonathan Quick will start the United States’ opener against Slovakia. Dan Rosen breaks the game down:
Dan Bylsma talks about selecting Quick to start the first game:
Brown and Quick talk about representing their country:
More Olympic coverage can be found on the Kings’ Sochi page.
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