The NHL break continues but men’s hockey begins today at the Olympics, with Group B featuring Slovakia-Finland (10:30 a.m. EST) and Sweden vs. hosts Italy (3:00 p.m. EST).
There are three groups that will
do round-robin in the preliminary round, and the U.S. has the relatively light Group C assignment with House of Frans Denmark, Latvia and Germany.
But first, a few Islanders bits:
- Czech teammates love Ondrej Palat. [Post]
- Sticking with the Czech(ia), Tomas Poletin is doing well in his WHL rookie season, adjusting to (and liking) North American hockey, and enjoying friendship with David Rittich. [Isles]
- Others in a Prospect Report: Danny (don’t call me Brock) Nelson and Quinn (don’t call me Jeff) Finley head to head, plus more Nurmi and Dmitri Gamzin. [Isles]
- In their final pre-Olympics Islanders Anxiety podcast, Dan and Mike were unimpressed by how the Isles finished, but they don’t want to overlook how fun this season has been thus far. [LHH]
- What other sports do your Islanders like? [Isles video]
Elsewhere
- Some Olympic previews from the NHL-dot-com: Group B | Group C
- Over in the women’s bracket, the U.S. destroyed Canada. [YouTube highlights]
- Once upon a time, Drew Doughty was a wee pup on a Canadian champion, now he’s the grizzled veteran. [Sportsnet]
- The Panthers-Lightning rivalry carries over to the Olympics. [Sportsnet]
