Don't Overlook Slovakia

There is an air of confidence in Canada right now when it comes to the men's hockey team. That scares me.

Sure, we have looked invincible the last couple of games, and everything seems to be going well. But today is a different day. And just because the favored Swedes did not make it to the semi-final does not mean Canada has an easier game by any means. This is not like the Belarus team from 2002.

Canada can not afford to over to overlook Slovakia. If they do, I suspect they will get off to a rude awakening.

I suspect Slovakia will be the team off to the fast start tonight, meaning Roberto Luongo needs to earn his keep early. Canada will need to deal with the unavoidable let down from the high of the Russian game. If they get a couple of goals early, much like Canada did against Russia, that is dangerous. The Slovaks have the hottest goalie in the world and the best defenseman in the world. Coming from behind is not a great idea. Canada needs to get to Halak early.

True, the Slovaks don't have as much depth and perhaps have played above their heads, but these guys beat the Russians and the Swedes. Before the tournament began I picked Slovakia to be the surprise team of the tournament, albeit only mildy. The Russians and Swedes were upset by them.

Could they upset Canada, too? You bet they can.

Three keys to the game:

• The opening 10 minutes - Watch for the Slovaks to be dangerous and Canada to be slow. Luongo needs to come up big and hopefully the Canadians find their urgency level quickly.
• Jaroslav Halak. This guy has been playing unbelievably for weeks and even months. In a winner takes all knock out tournament like the Olympics, the team with the hottest goalie goes far. Can Slovakia go farther than they already have?
• Depth - The Canadians have tons of it. The Slovaks don't. Zdeno Chara can't play every minute. Canada has to use their speed and physicality to wear down the thinner ranks of the Slovak team.

USA vs Finland

• Everyone is anticipating a Canada-USA gold medal rematch right now. But Finland might have something to say about that. Miikka Kiprusoff is Ryan Miller's equal and the defending silver medalists are hungry. They have some good young players, but for the Selanne-Koivu generation, this is their last shot and they intend on making it happen.
• The Canada-USA matchup may very well happen but in the bronze medal game.

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