Today at 3 a.m. ET, Slovakia and Slovenia faceoff at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi in Group A 2014 Winter Olympics action. The game can be live streamed for free here.
Slovakia and Slovenia each hit the ice in search of their first win of the tournament, and with some other powerhouses in the group, this could be each team's best chance to earn a win and not finish last in Group A.
Tomas Tatar of the Detroit Red Wings scored the only goal for Slovakia in the team's 7-1 thrashing at the hands of the United States on Thursday.
"It's bigger ice, so we had a little more room," Marian Hossa, a Chicago Blackhawks forward who is on a line with Tatar and Blackhawks teammate Michal Handzus, told the Chicago Tribune. "When we had the puck, I felt good. The line, I felt we had a couple of great ... scoring opportunities and I'm sure as the tournament goes on it's going to get more comfortable."
Tatar, 23, has 24 points off of 13 goals and 11 assists in 49 games this season with the Red Wings.
It's uncertain who will man the crease for the Slovaks, but Jaroslav Halak of the St. Louis Blues was pulled Thursday in favor of Montreal Canadiens goaltender Peter Budaj after he let up five goals against the United States.
Slovenia kept up with the home-crowd favorite Russians thanks to two goals by Ziga Jeglic, but eventually lost 5-2 on Thursday and will be looking to bounce back.
Goaltender Robert Kristan made 30 saves in the effort, and figures to start again.
"He is an outstanding goalie and he deserves a lot of credit," Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, who is the only NHL representative on the team, told NHL.com afterwards.
Kopitar will look to help lead the bounce-back effort. He has 47 points through 59 games this season for the Kings, with 17 goals and 30 assists.
Slovakia and Slovenia look for their first wins of the tournament when they matchup against each other today at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
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