When the United States plays its next game at the Sochi Olympics, it'll be against either Slovakia or the Czech Republic. When Canada-Finland went to overtime, it guaranteed that Team USA, after its bye, would play the winner of the Czech-Slovak game. Canada, by virtue of its win, plays the winner of Switzerland-Latvia. MORE: | | | ( UPDATE : Team USA is playing the Czech Republic. ) Had the game ended in regulation, the U.S. would've been in that situation. The Swi s team has looked stronger thus far in the tournament, and goalie Jonas Hiller is a player any team would like to avoid so the Americans have that going for them. The flipside, though, is that the Czechs and Slovaks both rosters with more NHL players, particularly at forward. In any case, a Canada-United States matchup could take place in the semifinals. Not that anyone is looking too far ahead. Neither Canada nor the U.S. can face Ru sia, Sweden or Finland until the gold-medal game. Shin-soo Choo Jersey Here's a screencap from NBC of the bracket: PHOTOS: | | Some other thoughts: Slovenia , crazy as it sounds, should make the quarterfinals. They looked good in their first two games before running into the U.S., and should be able to take care of Austria. It probably ends there, though. Sweden is banged up, but their talent alone should be enough against the Slovenes. Ru sia, a suming it beats Norway, should face Finland in the quarters. The Finns have been crushed by injuries, particularly up front, but Tuukka Rask is good enough to beat anyone. The Ru sians, meanwhile, were uneven in their first game against Norway, lost to the U.S. in a shootout and needed another shootout to beat Slovakia. The Czech-Slovak game is going to be intense; those teams have battled each other since Czechslovakia broke up, and many of the players grew up playing against each other. We're guaranteed to mi s out on another United States-Canada final. That's a bummer, but Ru sia against anyone, really, for gold would make up for a whole lot in the entertainment department. Josh Jung Jersey
When the United States plays its next game at the Sochi Olympics, it'll be against either Slovakia or the Czech Republic. When Canada-Finland went to overtime, it guaranteed that Team USA, after its bye, would play the winner of the Czech-Slovak game. Canada, by virtue of its win, plays the winner of Switzerland-Latvia. MORE: | | | ( UPDATE : Team USA is playing the Czech Republic. ) Had the game ended in regulation, the U.S. would've been in that situation. The Swi s team has looked stronger thus far in the tournament, and goalie Jonas Hiller is a player any team would like to avoid so the Americans have that going for them. The flipside, though, is that the Czechs and Slovaks both rosters with more NHL players, particularly at forward. In any case, a Canada-United States matchup could take place in the semifinals. Not that anyone is looking too far ahead. Neither Canada nor the U.S. can face Ru sia, Sweden or Finland until the gold-medal game. Shin-soo Choo Jersey Here's a screencap from NBC of the bracket: PHOTOS: | | Some other thoughts: Slovenia , crazy as it sounds, should make the quarterfinals. They looked good in their first two games before running into the U.S., and should be able to take care of Austria. It probably ends there, though. Sweden is banged up, but their talent alone should be enough against the Slovenes. Ru sia, a suming it beats Norway, should face Finland in the quarters. The Finns have been crushed by injuries, particularly up front, but Tuukka Rask is good enough to beat anyone. The Ru sians, meanwhile, were uneven in their first game against Norway, lost to the U.S. in a shootout and needed another shootout to beat Slovakia. The Czech-Slovak game is going to be intense; those teams have battled each other since Czechslovakia broke up, and many of the players grew up playing against each other. We're guaranteed to mi s out on another United States-Canada final. That's a bummer, but Ru sia against anyone, really, for gold would make up for a whole lot in the entertainment department. Josh Jung Jersey