The Olympic hockey tournament is underway and every team has participated in one preliminary game.
The assumed contenders for gold — Canada, Sweden, USA and Russia — all managed to pick up victories.
Canada drops from No. 1 — you gotta score more than three on Norway.
Throughout the tournament, sportsnet.ca will provide power rankings for all 12 participating nations in the men’s hockey event.
1) UNITED STATES (1-0): The U.S. proved why many believe the team is a top contender — with a 7-1 blowout of Slovakia. The Americans showed a dangerous, balanced attack, with the line of Dustin Brown, Ryan Kesler and Patrick Kane standing out thanks to an uncanny ability to cycle and control the puck. A big test comes Saturday versus Russia.
2) SWEDEN (1-0): The Tre Kroner came out strong, scoring four times on their first 11 shots in an impressive 4-2 win over the Czech Republic. The Swedes looked fast and were especially strong skating the puck out of their zone thanks to dynamic defencemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Erik Karlsson, who potted two goals. The injury status of Henrik Zetterberg could affect them in the long run.
3) CANADA (1-0): Canada overcame a slow and underwhelming start to beat Norway 3-1. The defending champions got noticeably better as the game went on, but still were out of sync on offence. There’s no reason to panic (or even worry, really), Canada didn’t come out strong in Vancouver either.
4) RUSSIA (1-0): With explosive goals from Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk, it was a typical Russian performance in a 5-2 win they controlled with their speed and playmaking. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov had to make just 12 saves but still allowed two goals to Slovenia, who aren’t exactly an offensive powerhouse.
5) FINLAND (1-0): Even with Teemu Selanne missing for most of the game, the Finns exploded out of the gate with 52 shots in an 8-4 win over Austria. Mikael Granlund and Jarkko Immonen were especially strong on the offensive end, leading a well-balanced offensive showing. The team will need a better performance from goaltender Tuukka Rask, who allowed four goals on just 20 shots.
6) SWITZERLAND (1-0): Many (including Teemu Selanne) considered the Swiss a tournament dark horse and they came through with a rock-solid defensive performance in 1-0 win over Latvia. Scoring obviously remains the biggest concern, but the Swiss will be a tough out for anyone—especially if netminder Jonas Hiller continues to shine.
7) CZECH REPUBLIC (0-1): The lack of fire power and goaltending issues were noticeable against Sweden. The team lacks playmakers on offence and it remains to be seen why they didn’t give Ondrej Pavelec the opening-game start. The good news: Jaromir Jagr, even at 42, can still contribute offensively—he scored one of the team’s two goals.
8) LATVIA (0-1): Latvia put forth a solid effort against Switzerland, but came up on the wrong end of a lucky bounce. KHLer Edgars Masalskis, who took a knee to the head early in the game, was the standout performer with 38 saves. If he continues to perform at that level, the Latvians will have a chance in every game they play.
9) SLOVENIA (0-1): Started from the bottom, now… Not really, but the team certainly exceeded expectations in its first-ever Olympic contest. The Slovenians were expected to be routed by the Russians, but actually gave them a challenge— especially during the second period when unheralded forward Ziga Jeglic scored twice to pull the game within one goal.
10) NORWAY (0-1): In the end, Norway didn’t have enough talent to match Canada. The bright spot was goaltender Lars Haugen. He stopped 35 of 38 shots and kept Norway in the game, despite the club registering just 20 shots on offence. He didn’t have much of a chance on any of the three goals.
11) AUSTRIA (0-1): The 8-4 loss was a mixed bag. Michael Grabner scored three goals in his Olympic debut and they led twice early before the Finns took over. Scoring four times on Tuukka Rask is an accomplishment worth getting excited about, but the Austrians have major issues on the defensive end, evidenced by the 52 shots allowed.
12) SLOVAKIA (0-1): What a discouraging performance from Slovakia. They were underwhelming in all areas of the ice and were handily dominated. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak was pulled after allowing five goals on 20 shots and the team was awful in the defensive zone. That’s something nobody anticipated with Zdeno Chara headlining the back end.