2010 Vancouver Olympics: Slovakia Edges Russia in Shootout, 2-1

Another thrilling contest in the books here in Vancouver, British Columbia as Slovakia defeated Team Russia 2-1 in a shootout earlier tonight.

You would think this game would have been a battle of offenses when heading into it, but it turned out to be a tight tilt that kept fans on the edge of their seats with defense throughout. Other than the United States' blowout in the afternoon, all the games that took place Thursday were tightly played and exciting. That is how Olympic hockey should be afterall.

Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra, former teammates in Minnesota, were the best players on the ice for Slovakia tonight. They were very dynamic with the puck and created some great scoring chances. Russian goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov had answers to most of them, except for Marian Hossa’s tying one-timer late in the second period. Demitra had the winning goal in the shootout.

Gaborik, for a player with a thigh laceration, has looked sharp out there for the most part. He is not skating at 100 percent but has been good enough to contribute for the Slovaks.

My fear, now, is when Gaborik returns to New York after the Olympics. I am not too sure his physical status will be all that great, but hopefully he can prove me wrong. The Rangers are going to need him more than ever down the stretch and in the hunt for a playoff spot, and they cannot afford to have him watching from the sideline due to an injury.

So with the conclusion of today’s games, below are the current tournament standings based on points:

1. Team USA - 6 points
2. Team Canada – 5 points
3. Russia – 4 points
4. Sweden – 3 points
5. Finland – 3 points
6. Slovakia - 3 points
7. Czech Republic – 3 points
8. Switzerland – 1 point
9. Norway – 0 points
10. Belarus – 0 points
11. Latvia – 0 points
12. Germany – 0 points

I will be heading to Czech Republic against Latvia on Friday, so check in for pregame and postgame analysis of that game, including in-game updates of all games on twitter .
(Photo courtesy of Reuters Pictures)