Today at 7:30 a.m. ET, Sweden and Switzerland take the ice at Bolshoy Ice Dome for Group C action at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. The game can be live streamed here.
Both of these teams won their Olympic openers and the winner of this game will propel themselves into the driver's seat for Group C. Sweden will be looking to live up to expectations by becoming the favorite to win Group C while Switzerland looks to pull off what would be considered an upset against the Swedish.
After storming out to an early 4-0 lead over the Czech Republic, Sweden allowed two quick goals in the second period but was eventually able to hold on for a 4-2 victory in the opener. The team struggled in parts of the game and took three late penalties but was able to hang on for the win.
The Swedes may be without captain Henrik Zetterberg after a herniated disc in his back flared up.
"We will [make the] decision [Friday] and see how he feels and how he adjusts to anti-inflammatory treatment and rest," team doctor Bjorn Waldenberg said via NHL.com.
Zetterberg has 48 points off of 16 goals and 32 assists in 45 games for the Detroit Red Wings this season. Henrik Lundqvist, who is 22-18-3 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage this season for the New York Rangers, will once again man the crease for Sweden.
Switzerland will look to increase on its scoring touch as it was close to going to overtime in its game against Latvia until a fortunate bounce led to a Simon Moser goal with just 7.9 seconds remaining in the game to give the team a win.
Goaltender Jonas Hiller turned away all 21 shots that he faced for the 1-0 win.
"I thought we played a pretty decent game but just couldn't find a way to put the puck in the back of the net," Hiller said, according to NHL.com. "The longer the game goes like that the tougher it gets. You start trying new things that don't always work and try to get too fancy. We'll take the three points and go from here."
Reto Berra of the Calgary Flames will get the nod against Sweden. This season with the Flames, Berra is 8-16-2 through 27 games with a 3.02 GAA and a .896 save percentage.
The Swedes will look to show why they're the favorites to lead Group C while Switzerland will look to find its scoring touch when these two teams faceoff in the Sochi Games.
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