It’s the first day of action in Buffalo, with all the teams on equal footing ahead of a busy opening schedule. Three of the gold medal contenders take on an upstart team hoping to grab an unexpected point to set the tone for their tournament.
This game will likely be closer than many would have predicted based on recent results. Czech forwards Filip Chytil, Martin Necas, and Filip Zadina can hold their own up against Klim Kostin, Vitaliy Abramov, and Andrei Svechnikov on the Russian side.
This game will set things in motion in what shapes up to be a wide-open Group B.