United States vs. Russia Olympic hockey live blog
Jonathan Quick makes a save in the United States' opening game against Slovakia. (Getty Images) The FactsWho: Russia (1-0-0-0) vs. United States (1-0-0-0)
What: Second game of the Olympics for both teams in Group A
When: 7:30 a.m. eastern Saturday on NBC Sports Network
Where: Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi, Russia
Three Key Players: Jonathan Quick, Patrick Kane, Ryan SuterQuick Preview: Coming off the big 7-1 win over Slovakia, Team USA hasproven they can score as well as any team, but they will face a muchmore difficult task defensively against Russia. The American defensewasn't challenged as much as they will be against Russia which alsoputs a lot of pressure on starting goalie Jonathan Quick to play a keyrole. The U.S. may jumble some of their forward lines and defensivepairings coming into this game which could slightly alter the way TeamUSA plays. If they're able to keep Russia on their heels despite homeice advantage and a load of offensive weapons, the U.S. should be ableto make it tough on their hosts. This game is going to be played at avery, very fast pace.
Eye on Russia
Three Key Players: Alexander Ovechkin, Andrei Markov, Pavel DatsyukQuick Preview: Russia took a while to put away Slovenia in a somewhatsurprising opener, but there's no denying their offensive prowess.With a top six that includes some of the very best players in theworld, they have to make sure they are the ones pushing the pace andnot the Americans. All four lines can score, but the defense looked alittle shaky, even against Slovenia, which can't be the case againstTeam USA. They'll have the home crowd behind them and expect this teamto be very motivated. The U.S. is likely going to take a physical gameto Russia, but they can't let that get them frustrated. If Russia canmake the most of the chances they get, it's going to be tough for theU.S.
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