Czech Republic vs. Canada Hockey Bronze-Medal Game Live-Stream Schedule
Canada and the Czech Republic will meet again in the 2018 Winter Olympics men's hockey tournament, as the two nations will contest the bronze-medal match on Saturday.
The opening faceoff is scheduled for 9:10 p.m. local time (7:10 a.m. ET), per Olympics.org. NBCSN will cover the game live for American audiences, starting at 7 a.m. Canadian fans can watch the match on CBC.
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Preview
While Canada has won its fair share of medals in this year's Olympics―claiming a record amount, standing at 27―both the curling and hockey teams have come up well short of the expectations.
Sportswriters across the country were in shock after the semifinal loss against Germany, which ensured the men's or women's teams in both sports would fail to capture the gold.
Marc Dumont was one of them:
So was Devin Heroux, who covered both sports at length for CBC Sports:
In the men's hockey, many fans will point to the lack of NHL stars as a reason for what will be seen as a failure. The match against Germany was about much more than that, however.
Goalie Kevin Poulin let in three goals on the first six shots he faced in the second period―he had already conceded once in the first―but he was hardly at fault for the loss. Between lazy defending, terrible line changes and a power play unit that couldn't get going until the third, Canada all but handed Germany the momentum.
When the team did put things together late, the German penalty kill took care of things, and the Europeans took only their second win against the hockey giants in 30 tries in Olympic and world championship play, according to Neil Davidson of the Globe and Mail.
Things aren't about to get any easier in the bronze-medal match. The Czech Republic is more of a traditional power in men's hockey, with an Olympic title and bronze medal on its resume and a roster filled with stars from the KHL and a solid domestic league.
The two sides already met in the group stages, where the Czechs showed what they're capable of:
The Czech Republic won Group A and beat the United States in the quarter-finals before its 3-0 loss against the Olympic Athletes from Russia. In wins over Canada and the USA, goalie Pavel Francouz twice played a key role, allowing just a single goal in the combined shootouts.
The 27-year-old could be playing himself into an NHL contract at some point in the future, and his KHL stats suggest his great form is no fluke:
It's fair to question how motivated Canada will be for this match after the disheartening loss against Germany, and in all likelihood, Gilbert Brule will be suspended after receiving a game misconduct for a dreadful hit on Germany's David Wolf.
He was one of the scorers in the loss, and if he's absent, it will hamper Canada's chances in the contest even more.
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