The Olympic hockey tournament is rightfully considered the most prestigious competition for national teams in the sport so beloved by many. The Winter Games will kick off in Pyeongchang on February 9th, but the hockey games at the Olympics are scheduled for a later date.
All Russian hockey fans are especially concerned about the performance of the national team at the 2018 Olympic Games in Korea. Even though the National Hockey League did not let its stars go to the Games, the world is eagerly awaiting the start of the hockey championship.
The men's national team of Russia ended up in group B. The opponents of Oleg Znark's wards include teams from Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States. The Russian national team will play their first game on February 14th. The rivals of the national team will be the team of Slovakia. This game will be the opening match of the men's ice hockey tournament at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
The Russian team will play its second match with an opponent, whose rating is significantly inferior to the rest of the teams of Quartet B. The Russian national team will fight on February 16 with the Slovenian team, whose main star Anže Kopitar, remained in the NHL club from Los Angeles.
The final match of the group stage will be played by the Russian men's ice hockey team on 17 February. On this day, the national squad will have to fight with the main rivals in the group - the US national team. According to experts' forecasts, it is this match that will become decisive in the final arrangement of the first two places of V.
Of course, all Russian fans hope that the Russian national team will play on February 21st, 23rd and 25th. It is on these dates that the quarter-final matches, as well as the semi-finals and the final are scheduled by the regulations.
The Russian women's national ice hockey team at the OI-2018 will begin their performance earlier. Already on February 11, the Russians will play with the Canadians. Two days later (on the 13th), the Russian women's national team will have to oppose another favorite of the Games - the US team. On February 15th the girls will play against the Finnish team.
Playoffs for the women's hockey teams are scheduled for February 17, 19, and 22.
