I just finished watching the Russian men’s hockey team beat Czech Republic, 4-2, giving Group B to the Russians. That guarantees the Russian a top three seed in the single-elimination rounds and a bye in the first round of single-elimination play.
Alex Ovechkin seemed to change the game with a huge center-ice hit on Jaromir Jagr, which led directly to a goal by Evgeni Malkin, who was fed a beautiful pass by Alexander Semin. That made the score 3-1 in favor of the Russians. The Czechs made a strong push to tie the game up, but couldn’t get closer than 3-2.
UPDATE: Here’s the video of the Ovechkin hit, the Semin pass, and Malkin goal:
Now I’m watching NBC’s feature on the Miracle on Ice. NBC has Al Michaels with Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig and Mark Johnson talking about the 1980 miracle in Lake Placid on the same ice that they played on in 1980.
Well, not the exact same ice, but you get the point.
So far, it’s a very good feature. It’s a lead-in of sorts to the USA/Canada matchup tonight at 7:45, the biggest game of the preliminary round. But the game is on MSNBC, not NBC. What did NBC feel was more important than USA/Canada, the most important event of the Olympics thus far?
Ice dancing.
Yes, ice dancing. And no NBC, for me, means no HD. And no HD means epic fail. Nevertheless, I’m pumped up for this game.
The arena in Vancouver will be absolutely jumping. It’s the powerhouse Canadians, favored to win the tournament by many, against the youthful, talented and underdog Americans.
The talent is clearly on the side of the Canadians, but Ryan Miller of Team USA may be the best goaltender in the entire tournament. Miller gives the Americans a chance to win in every game the Americans play. If Miller plays as well as he is capable of, and guys like Zach Parise and Patrick Kane take advantage of the opportunities that they’re presented with, then the Americans can pull off the big upset.
It’s the biggest event of the Olympics so far. It’s USA/Canada. I can’t wait.