Slovakia in control of Group B, Teravainen still looking for first point

Group B was back in action early this morning while some of us were still sleeping or getting ready for work. Today’s matchups featured the host country holding its own again and a heated rivalry renewed on the Olympic stage.

Slovakia in the Driver’s Seat

Heading into the tournament, Slovakia was considered a dark horse for the medal round. They have just enough NHL talent to go with their homegrown stars to make a run, but maybe not enough to take down one of the powerhouses. They moved to 2-0-0 with a 3-2 win over Italy and lead Group B with six points.

After a scoreless first period, two Slovakian pros, Libor Hudacek and Matus Sukel, scored 10 minutes apart to give them a 2-0 lead. Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens picked up his fourth point of the tournament with the primary assist on the opening goal. St. Louis Blues forward Dalibor Dvorsky had the secondary assist.

Former AHLer Matt Bradley cut the lead in half before the end of the frame. Adam Ruzicka’s second goal of the tournament restored Slovakia’s two-goal lead with eight minutes to play.

Italy pulled its goaltender with five minutes to play. Dustin Gazely got Italy to within a goal with three minutes to play, but they could not draw even. Gazely played at Michigan State and has 278 games of AHL experience with the Hershey Bears. The 37-year-old winger has been playing professionally in Italy since 2020.

Stanislav Skorvanek made 20 saves for the victory. Chicago Blackhawks goaltending prospect Adam Gajan did not dress for the second straight game. Slafkovsky is making an early case to be the tournament’s MVP as he put up seven shots on goal to go along with an assist.

This is the second time Slovakia has started an Olympic tournament with two wins. Back in 2006, they won their first five games before losing to Czechia in the Playoff Round.

Finland Rebounds with Stellar Goaltending

Finland fell victim to Slovakia on the tournament’s opening day. They flipped the script to beat Sweden 4-1 despite being outshot 34-26. Nashville Predators goaltender Jusse Saros rebounded when his country needed him most. After allowing three goals on 24 shots to Slovakia on Wednesday, he made 33 saves to get the Fins into the win column.

Ottawa Senators defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo opened the scoring by rocketing a slap shot over the blocker side of the Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Former Blackhawks defenseman Olli Maatta recorded the secondary assist on the play.

Later in the opening period, Florida Panthers forward Anton Lundell doubled the Finnish lead.

After Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin cut the lead in half early in the second period, Joel Armia scored a shorthanded goal before Mikko Rantanen iced the game with an empty-netter. Sweden was relentless in the third period with 17 shots on goal, but Saros stopped them all. Teuvo Teravainen had one shot on goal in 13:53 of ice time. This was Finland’s first Olympic win over Sweden with NHL players since the Playoff Round in 1998.

Group B will conclude its preliminary round play tomorrow, with Slovakia taking on Sweden and Finland playing Italy. Slovakia can clinch a bye into the quarterfinals with one point against the Swedes.