Czech Republic v Latvia Live

Entering the tournament with hopes to win an Olympic medal, the Czech Republic is hoping to skip the qualifying round by securing the first place in Group B. Thus, Tomas Plekanec and the Czech team will face Latvia in Vancouver on Saturday at 0:30 a.m. GMT.

Coming off a tough 8-2 blowout loss versus Russia, the Latvian team has yet to show that they are capable of keeping up with the level of play of their competitors. Albeit Latvia can count on Oskars Bartulis from the Philadelphia Flyers and Karlis Skrastins from the Dallas Stars, their overall level of individual talent does not seem to be enough to compete with contenders. Thus, there is no doubt that the Czech Republic will enter their encounter with Latvia as undisputed favorites to clinch a win on Saturday night. Even though Jaromir Jagr might have passed his prime, the Czech team will be able to rely on the services of an excellent group of NHL players who should be able to perform at both ends of the ice. Most importantly, Tomas Plekanec and Tomas Kaberle can be expected to take some pressure of Jaromir Jagr to lead the team.

You can watch all games of 2010 Winter Olympics right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.