Men's Hockey Starts Today

Somewhat fittingly for those of us in the United States, the USA squad bats lead-off today as the Olympic men's hockey tournament begins (3 p.m, USA Network). And it's a wide-open field with the Russians (who boast three of the five Caps in the games) and the homestanding Canadians leading the way. The Americans and Swedes also will lay a solid claim to a medal, with the defending silver medalists Fins in there as well.

The Americans are young, hungry and are the underdogs. In fact, since winning their historic gold medal in 1980, they've only won one medal -- a silver in 2002 (losing to Canada in Salt Lake City). If the Americans are going to finish in the top three, they'll need to be led by an outstanding goaltending trio (Ryan Miller, Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick) and overachieve across the board.

Conversely, the Canadians, Russians and Swedes are stacked. Canada boasts a who's-who among NHL scoring leaders and that doesn't even include the Caps' Mike Green, who is first among blueliners. There's also some grit in there (specifically Chris Pronger and Brent Seabrook) and goaltending legend Martin Brouduer -- not to mention really hometowner Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks and most recent Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury (the youngest of the three net-minders by far).

The Russians might just be setting offensive records when it's all said and done. Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Semin, Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin lead the way for the team that also boasts Sergei Fedorov, Viktor Kozlov and captain Alexey Morozov. The blueline isn't as star-laden but that doesn't apply to goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov and Evgeni Nabokov -- not to mention the Caps' Semyon Varlamov. The team also will be looking to avenge a disappointing fourth-place finish in 2006.

The Swedes won the gold in Turin and look to be a serious threat again. Led by the Canucks' twins -- Henrik and Daniel Sedin -- the Caps' Nicklas Backstrom, Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Zetterberg and Peter Forsburg (and that's only on offense), the Swedes return 13 from their 2006 roster. Their defense is equally as star-laden with all-everything Nicklas Lidstrom, Nicklas Kronwall and Tobias Enstrom occupying the top spots and superstar Henrik Lundqvist in between the pipes.

Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia probably won't embarrass themselves, but when it's all said and done, they just don't have the star power to earn a medal. As for who will:

Gold: Russia. Call it a hunch, and maybe a little Ovechkin-bias, but the offense-at-will mentality will get it done in Vancouver.

Silver: Canada. Yes, the hosts will be on the podium, but not in the spot they're coveting.

Bronze: Sweden. The USA probably will get a chance at this medal, but the defending gold medalists will be back on the podium in Vancouver.