This is much better

The US men's hockey team played up to their potential today, beating Kazakhstan 4-1. It wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but it was much better than yesterday.

And speaking of a highly-rated team being beaten by a lesser one with a hot NHL goalie, Switzerland beat the powerful Czech team in the biggest upset of the Olympics so far. Another suprise today was the Russians wiping the ice with the favored Swedes.

While it would have been better to beat Latvia, the US is still in a good position after their first two games. All they need to do is win one of their last three and they've reached the medal round; a tie will do if Latvia doesn't beat anyone other than Kazakhstan. Considering how weak both Russia and Sweden have looked at times so far, it would appear that Slovakia is the team to beat in Pool B. I still think the US can win at least two of their next three games; one win is a pretty safe bet, especially if they continue to improve.

We'll see after this weekend.