Slovakia gets a fortuitous matchup on Sunday when they take on struggling Germany.
The Slovakians were widely deemed irrelevant with the likes of Canada, Russia, and the United States in Group B, but with the Americans and Canadians meeting on Sunday, they have a chance to leapfrog the United States in standings with a win over Germany.
The team proved hard to beat when they took Russia to overtime and earned one point, but proved their worth in the ensuing loss to Canada. Despite a 6-3 score, Slovakia dominated the first half of the game. Slovakia's Mark Dano scored 2:53 into the first and his teammate Tomas Mikus scored at the 15:28 mark to stun Canada in the first 20 minutes. They gave up an early goal but looked like winners when Dano added his second goal of the match at the 10:34 mark. The team imploded a minute later, but the first half effort proved that they could contend with the best team in the group.
On the other hand, Germany has proven through three matches that they cannot contend with any team in this group. After being pulverized by Canada 9-3 in the opening match, they lost to the United States 8-0. Their latest match was a 7-0 blowout loss to Russia that has eliminated them from the Quarter finals. Don't expect this team to do anything against Slovakia at this point.
Predictions: Slovakia will have their way with Germany. 5-1 Slovakia.
Start Time: 9 AM EST
TV: TSN