Czechia knows what to expect playing Canada at the Olympics but this time around, it's hoping for a better outcome with the stakes at an all-time high.
Once again, Czechia will face the hockey powerhouse in the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic tournament, eyeing a better result than the 5-0 thrashing it received in the opener.
For Czech forward Martin Necas, the opportunity to see Canada again on the Olympic stage carries both excitement and a sense of unfinished business.
“It’s simply just fantastic,” Necas said to reporters of the rematch after their game against Denmark on Tuesday. “We let them win the first one because we knew we were not going to win two in a row against Canada.”
While the odds certainly won't be in Czechia's favour going into the rematch, the team believes it can be better the second time around.
David Pastrnak believed it's up to the team to have the right mindset in the rematch.
“It might be the best team ever, so maybe we have to put the respect aside a little bit and try to take their game to them,” Pastrnak told reporters on Tuesday.
Canada locked up the top seed in the men's tournament, which means it gets the lowest seed in the quarterfinals. Puck drop between Canada and Czechia is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET / 7:40 a.m. PT on Thursday.
Although Canada has breezed through the tournament, history suggests that the overwhelming favourite still has to live up to the hype.
It will be the first Canada-Czechia men's hockey playoff game with NHL players at the Olympics since 1998. In that game, Czechia came away with a 2-1 semifinal victory when Canada did not use Wayne Gretzky in a shootout.
