St. Louis Blues rookie Dalibor Dvorsky is shining on the biggest stage and is putting his name on the map.
For St. Louis Blues and hardcore NHL fans, Dalibor Dvorsky is a household name.
He’s been heralded, alongside Juraj Slafkovsky, as the start of a new era in Slovakia hockey and has been an impressive prospect at every level. His performances at the World Junior Championship had introduced him to hockey fans, but the new level he’s hitting at the Olympics will make him unforgettable.
Dvorsky made his mark on Day 1 when he scored the game-winning goal against Finland. He won the face-off against Carolina Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho and then outmuscled the Finnish center before potting the rebound past Juuse Saros.
He added a power play assist just three minutes later.
The 20-year-old then recorded an assist on the opening goal against Italy, giving him three points through two games.
But today, against Sweden in a vital game for the standings in Group B, Dvorsky stepped up.
Sweden took the three points with a 5-3 win, but despite the loss, Dvorsky may have scored the most important goal of the tournament so far. Trailing 5-2 and on the power play, Dvorsky was quick to pounce on a loose puck and beat New Jersey Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom for the goal.
While the goal doesn’t seem to be all that important, Dvorsky’s goal gave Slovakia a better goal differential than Sweden and may have booked their spot as the top seed in the group.
If Finland defeats Italy in regulation, the three teams will be tied with six points, and head-to-head would be thrown out the window. The next tiebreaker would be goal differential, and Slovakia currently has the best differential thanks to Dvorsky’s late goal.
If Slovakia maintains its position at the top of the group, they’ll go straight through into the quarter-finals.
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