Ilya Kovalchuk and Team Russia will face Canada in the opening round of the quarterfinals.

Winning rules remainder
of tournament
By Phil Coffey | NHL.com
Feb. 21, 2006

TORINO, Italy -- The formula for success over the remainder of the Olympic hockey tournament is very simple - Win and you're in, lose and go home.

"Every game from now (on) is a final," Russian captain Alexei Kovalev said. "There will be lots of blocked shots, bodies on the line. This tournament is all about the stakes. The big ice gives you space and time to capitalize on the other team's mistakes."

So what will it take to win gold?

"Skill and power don't mean anything," Kovalev said. "You need heart and you need everyone in the team believing that they can win."

With the preliminary round complete, the eight surviving teams jump right into action Wednesday.

At Torino Esposizioni, the Swiss take on the Swedes at 4:30 p.m. local, 10:30 a.m. ET, CBC, USA), with the Russians and Canadians playing at 8:30 p.m. local, 2:30 p.m. ET, CBC, MSNBC).

At Palasport, the Finns and Americans open the quarterfinals (5:30 p.m. local, 11:30 a.m. ET, USA, MSNBC), while the Slovaks and Czechs close out the two-game set at Palasport (9:30 p.m. local, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBC, USA).

The winners of each game will advance to Friday's semifinals.

The matchup between Team Canada and Team Russia conjures up years of international hockey between the two nations, who have staged some of the sport's legendary games. For a newcomer like Washington Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechkin, the lure of Canada-Russia is too good to resist.

"It will be the biggest game of my life," the passionate Ovechkin said. "The biggest game.

"We had a good game tonight, but we made too many mistakes," Ovechkin said after an entertaining 5-4 win over Team USA. "Tomorrow is a big game and we can't make those mistakes."

After finishing 1-3-1, Team USA will face undefeated Finland in the quarterfinals.

Russian center Viktor Kozlov already is anticipating a classic matchup.

"I know every time these countries meet it is a battle and it will be a war," Kozlov said. "That is the way it has been in the past and I do not expect anything different."

It is definitely a step up from NHL regular-season play," Team Canada forward Simon Gagne said. "I would say it is right at the level of the Stanley Cup Playoffs."

Team USA knows it has a rough draw with the Finns, who have done just about everything right in this tournament, finishing 5-0 while scoring 19 goals and allowing only two.

"We've been playing great defense," American center Doug Weight said. "We want to make sure we don't get frustrated and make sure we play the game for the full 60 minutes. We're confident if we play like that we will be successful.

"Whenever we play them," Weight said of the Finns, "it turns into a playoff game, low scoring, good defense."

"We certainly can't afford to make mistakes," American center Scott Gomez said. "The fun starts now. You lose, you go home, it's as simple as that. This kind of atmosphere is what you play for."