For a second Olympic tournament in a row, Slovakia and Juraj Slafkovsky will get to compete for a medal after beating Germany 6-2.
In the first game of “Quarterfinals Wednesday” at the Olympics, Montreal Canadiens’ winger Juraj Slafkovsky and Slovakia signed a big 6-2 win over Germany. The Slovaks played a solid team game, and their top line didn’t even take part in the scoring until it put in an empty netter through former Hab Tomas Tatar, with Slafkovsky getting an assist on the play.
Slovakia did a great job of containing and frustrating Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl and Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle. While the Slovaks don’t have the deepest team in the competition, they enjoyed depth scoring at the right time.
There was one scary moment in the game, though, when Slafkovsky tripped near the boards and landed headfirst into the boards. He then fell to the ice, clutching his head in his hands and stayed down for a few seconds. Canadiens’ fans held their collective breath for a few minutes, but there was apparently no harm done since he came back to play minutes later.
Even though the Olympics are not an NHL event, Radio-Canada’s Marc-Antoine Godin reported that the league’s concussion spotters are in Milan and that the concussion protocol is the same for the Games. Given how Slafkovsky fell to the ice and his reaction, it’s surprising that he wasn’t pulled from the game to go through the protocol, but there we are.
A serious injury to Slafkovsky would be a disaster for the Canadiens, especially given how the youngster has been playing this season both in the NHL and at these Olympic Games. He now has seven points in four games and is tied for third place in the scoring race. Canada’s Connor McDavid currently has the lead with nine points in just three games, followed by Sweden’s Lucas Raymond, who has eight.
The Slovaks will enjoy a day off on Thursday before playing their semifinal on Friday. Their opponent remains to be determined, depending on how the other quarterfinals go, but it’s impossible for them to face Canada. If the top seeds win the other three quarterfinals, they would face Team USA in the semifinal, while Canada would face Finland. Should Sweden upset Team USA, the matchups would then be Sweden vs. Canada and Finland vs. Slovakia. These are just a couple of the possible scenarios, and the rest of the day promises to be interesting in Milano. Whoever they face, though, Slafkovsky and co. will compete for a medal. It could be bronze, like in Beijing, or gold if they keep up the good work.
Canada takes on Czechia at 10:40 AM ET, Finland faces Switzerland at 12:10 PM ET, and Team USA faces Sweden at 3:10 PM ET.
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