Olympic hockey starts today for the men with the United States taking on Switzerland at 2 PM, followed by Canada and Norway at 6:30 (both times Central). Patrick Kane will skate for the Americans, while Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Jonathan Toews go for Canada.  Look for Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky on the Slovakian team as well.  The Hawks got ready for the Olympics with some pretty funny videos and–as you can see–some slightly disturbing pictures. 

To me, the Canadians are the favorites in the tournament. They just have too much talent throughout the entire lineup.  The Russians might have the most firepower and the scariest top players, but their depth will hurt them and they cannot match Canada in the goaltending department. 

The US will do well to get bronze, but as we’ve seen before they can provide a surprise (good or bad).  Kane’s line with Paul Statsny and Zach Parise should provide plenty of scoring that will scare teams in the quarterfinal round and Ryan Miller can steal a game at any time in goal.  It all starts today, so hopefully those crazy Canadians have actual ice in the arena.  Check out the Hawks videos for the popsicle eating contest and the speed skating.

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Tags: Chicago Blackhawks, Hockey, Jonathan Toews, Olympics, Patrick Kane