Olympic Predictions

Olympic Hockey is upon us, at last.

The games will kick off tomorrow with the Americans taking on the Swiss, followed by the hometown Canadians squaring off against Norway and the Russians playing Latvia.

Here's how I envision the top eight playing out in Vancouver...

8. Switzerland
- The Swiss have the goaltending (Jonas Hiller) and the Olympic experience (beat the Canadians in 2006) to turn some heads in Vancouver. They'll face America, Canada, and Norway in round robin play, and will be substantial underdogs against both the Americans and Canada. Switzerland will need 30 spectacular minutes a night from Mark Streit on defense, and Hiller to play otherworldly in net. Hiller is very capable of turning in spectacular performances at clutch times (isn't that right, San Jose?), which the Swiss will need to pull off any upsets. Keep tabs on the Swiss power play - if it runs as well as it can, their chances off pulling of an upset increase dramatically.

7. Slovakia
- While it does appear that Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa will partake in the games, I still think Slovakia lacks the tools to warrant a medal-worthy finish. However, they'll be far from a cake walk for their opponents. Gaborik and Hossa should be centered on the top line by Pavol Demitra to form a trio that has been a handful in international competition. Jaroslav Halak has proven his worth as a very talented number one goalie over the course of this season with the Canadiens, and Zdeno Chara and Lubomir Visnovsky lead an underrated defensive group. All that being said, I'm not sure they have the depth to pull off enough upsets to catapult themselves to a medal. Outside of their top line, scoring goals won't be easy.

6. Finland
- While the defending silver medalists may possess three excellent goaltenders and a host of NHL talent, I'm hard pressed to find a reason why Finland will take home a medal this time around. The Teemu Selanne - Saku Koivu - Jere Lehtinen line, which has carried Finland for well over a decade in international competition, is composed of three players that have seen their best years come and go. Their defensive group will need Herculean efforts from Kimmo Timonen, Joni Pitkanen, and Sami Salo, and Mikko Koivu - arguably the most underrated player in the NHL, today - will need to be their best player outside of the crease from start to finish. Could they finish higher than sixth and take home a medal? Certainly. Selanne still has some gas in the tank, their forwards are a gritty bunch, and Niklas Backstrom, Miikka Kiprusoff, and Antero Niittymaki are all excellent goaltenders. I just don't see it this time around.

5. United States
- How will this young squad perform? The Americans will throw out a very balanced attack up front, and should receive an excellent performance from Vezina-candidate Ryan Miller in between the pipes. But, their defense is a major cause for concern. As I've mentioned before, Jack Johnson, Erik Johnson, and Ryan Whitney do not stack up well against the world-class forwards they'll be facing every game after they play Switzerland and Norway in their first two contests. For this reason, Miller will have to prove the handful of critics that believe he may be fatigued (with good reason) wrong - gut feeling, I think he turns in a very admirable performance in net. Upfront, the Americans will need a big effort from their top line of Patrick Kane - Paul Stastny - Zach Parise, as well as a solid defensive effort from their checking line of Dustin Brown - Ryan Kesler - Jamie Langenbrunner. I'm confident the Americans will fare better offensively than many in the media expect, but at the end of the day, they just don't stack up defensively. If they somehow come away with gold or silver, expect Miller and Parise to be the story for the Red, White, and Blue. Big efforts on special teams certainly would increase their chance for a medal.

4. Czech Republic
- The Czechs are a very intriguing lineup. They possess a well-rounded group of defensemen that includes some solid stay-at-home guys (Zbynek Michalek, Filip Kuba, Jan Hejda, and Roman Polak), to go along with three very steady puck-moving rearguards (Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, and Marek Zidlicky). I really like the blend they have defensively. In goal, Tomas Vokoun is having an excellent season with the Panthers even if his team isn't; he's more than capable of stealing games for the Czechs. What's hard to gage is how their forwards will rank. Can Jaromir Jagr still be a game changer up front, despite not gracing an NHL ice-surface for nearly two years? They garner numerous above-average NHLer's up front, but they lack the star power that the Canadian, Russian, and Swedish squads boast. If they finish in the medals, expect Patrik Elias, Tomas Plekanec, and Martin Havlat to have monster tournaments. They will throw out three lines that can score against any team in the tournament, and will need all three to do their part. For the record, I expect a big tournament from Jagr - the guy lives for moments like this.

3. (Bronze) Russia
- I cannot wait to watch Russia take the ice in Vancouver. The fire-power they possess up front is enough to make Zdeno Chara blush, and their goaltending should perform admirably whether Ilya Bryzgalov or Evgeni Nabokov gets the nod in net. Rumor has it that their top two lines are Alexander Ovechkin - Pavel Datsyuk - Alexander Semin and Ilya Kovalchuk - Evgeni Malkin - Maxim Afinogenov...wow. So about now you're probably asking yourself, "why does this idiot have them finishing third?" Simply put, I like Sweden and Canada more. Russia's defense lacks depth and only has one bruiser in Anton Volchenkov, and I can easily see them being run down dealing with a star-studded Canadian line-up up front that will be laying more bodies on them than drunken bastards all over the hottest, sluttiest girl at the bar two minutes before close. Dealing with Sweden's group of forwards will be a handful for Russia defensively, too. Don't get me wrong, Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Markov are elite defensemen, but I don't like the blend of the overall group. But - BUT - if their games turn into battles of special teams, they may become the favorite. Their power play units are absurdly talented, and they possess some excellent penalty killing forwards.

2. (Silver) Sweden
- Whenever somebody asks me what the best stereotypical nationallity is for a hockey player, my answer isn't Canadian, Russian, or American - it's Swedish. How such a small nation turns out so many phenomenal hockey players is beyond me. The Swedish lineup has one big trait in common - hockey sense. The Swedish roster is comprised of the best current goaltender in the world in Henrik Lundqvist (If you want to say I'm a Rangers fan, and that's why I'm labeling him the best in the world - phooey. The guy faces more quality chances than almost any goaltender in the league and still gets the job done. His playoff and international performances are consistently great), a plethora of smart, talented forwards who are great along the boards, in traffic, and at maintaining puck possession, and a defensive group that is solid but unspectacular. I love the fact that of their eight defensemen, six (Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Mattias Ohlund, Henrik Tallinder, Douglas Murray, and Johnny Oduya) are used to playing against their opponents' top guns, which will come in handy against the Russians and Canadians. The Swedes will throw out four lines that can score, but also play significantly above average defensively. Everyone seems to be asking "Canada or Russia?" - Sweden is right there, as far as I'm concerned.

1. (Gold) Canada
- But, it's Canada for me. The Canadians possess a roster with zero holes, great goaltending, and a great blend of youth and experience. Sidney Crosby, tied for the NHL lead in goals with Ovechkin, will finally get to play with talent (which is downright scary)... and then there is Ryan Getzlaf's line....then Joe Thornton's...and so on. They have by and far the best defensive group in the tournament - imagine one of Chris Pronger or Duncan Keith on the ice at almost all times. Despite their lack of holes and overwhelming group of talent, they can certainly be dethroned, but I find it hard to go against a team that has everything - the players, the home ice advantage, and a chip on their shoulder from '06.