The 2014 World Championship playoffs are about to begin and you’ll be able to watch all of the contests live, courtesy of NBCSports.com. For certain games, there will also be an encore performance on NBCSN.
If you want to watch any of today’s quarterfinals contests, but aren’t sure where to go, just follow the corresponding links below:
United States versus Czech Republic -- 9:00 a.m. ET start (CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE)
Neither of these countries had the showing in the Olympics that they were hoping for, but this tournament is a chance for the nations to rebound. This is also a nice opportunity to see one of the United States’ top prospects in John Gaudreau. The 20-year-old forward will attempt to establish himself with the Calgary Flames in 2014-15 after finishing his successful tenure with Boston College, but for now he’s dominating in the World Championship with two goals and 10 points in seven games.
Russia versus France -- 10 a.m. ET start (CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE)
Russia’s another team that underwhelmed in the Olympics, meanwhile France is this tournament’s Cinderella Story. The French kicked things off with a stunning shootout win over Canada and they went on to also beat Slovakia, Norway, and Denmark. They also finished within a goal of Sweden and the Czech Republic. Dallas Stars enforcer Antoine Roussel has been one of the tournament’s top performers, leading France with six goals and 11 points in seven games.
It’s worth adding that Alex Ovechkin, who suffered an injury that initially looked serious, is good to return, per Sport-Express’ Slava Malamud.
Canada versus Finland -- 1 p.m. ET start (CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE or view it on NBCSN)
As mention above, Canada started the tournament with a loss to France, but they haven’t been defeated since and they consequently still ended up with the top seed in Group A. Finland hasn’t been nearly as successful as they lost to Latvia, Russia, and the United States during the round robin phase.
Buffalo Sabres forward Cody Hodgson has been leading the charge for Canada with six goals and eight points in seven contests.
Sweden versus Belarus -- 2 p.m. ET start (CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE)
Like France, the fact that Belarus has made it this far is a rare accomplishment for the country. In fact, this represents just the fourth time that the nation has made it into the top eight. KHL goaltender Kevin Lalande deserves a fair amount of the credit for their success with his 0.66 GAA and .964 save percentage in four games.