Finland 8 – 4 Austria
Recap: For a team with a penchant for winning 1-0 games, it was surprising to see Finland lay an eight-burger on Austria in their Olympic opener. The Finns were led by strong performances from Mikael Granlund (2G, 1) and Jarkko Immonen (2G). Tuukka Rask delivered a sub-standard performance stopping only 16 of the 20 (.800 SV%) shots he faced in the victory. Michael Grabner finished with a hat trick for Austria.
| FIN | AUT | |
| 8 | SCORE | 4 |
| 52 (15.38%) | SHOTS | 20 (20.0%) |
| 16 (.800%) | SAVES | 44 (.846%) |
| 4 | PIM | 10 |
Russia 5 – 2 Slovenia
Recap: It took Alex Ovechkin only 1:17 to bring fans to their feet, giving Russia a lead they would maintain for the remainder of the game. Former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk reminded us all of his offensive talents, finishing with a goal of his own. Dallas Stars rookie Valeri Nichuskin scored the goal of the tournament thus far, finishing on a wonderful deke through the wickets of Slovenian goalie Robert Kristan. Anze Kopitar managed an assist in his nation’s first Olympic hockey game.
| RUS | SLO | |
| 5 | SCORE | 2 |
| 35 (14.29%) | SHOTS | 14 (14.29%) |
| 12 (.857%) | SAVES | 30 (.857%) |
| 6 | PIM | 6 |
USA 7 – 1 Slovakia
Recap: In what was the most surprising result of the day, the United States of America boat-raced their Slovakian foes, chasing starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak in the process. Phil Kessel notched a three point performance (1G, 2) while T.J. Oshie (2A), Paul Stastny (2G), Patrick Kane (2A), Ryan Kesler (1G, 1A), John Carlson (1G, 1A) and James van Riemsdyk (2A) all finished with multi-point games. Jonathan Quick thwarted 22 of 23 shots faced, the lone Slovak goal coming from Tomas Tatar. The United States played the most disciplined game of the Top Six, taking only one penalty in the win.
| SVK | USA | |
| 1 | SCORE | 7 |
| 23 (4.35%) | SHOTS | 33 (21.21%) |
| 26 (.787%) | SAVES | 22 (.956%) |
| 4 | PIM | 2 |
