Denmark pushed them to the limit, but Czechia held on for a nail-biting 3-2 win Tuesday to book their spot in the Olympic quarterfinals.
Now they’re facing an even bigger challenge: a rematch with Canada, who dominated them 5-0 earlier in the tournament.
“This might be the best team ever,” admitted Czech star David Pastrnak. “But maybe let’s put the respect aside a little bit and try to take their game to them. We have nothing to lose, so we’re going to go out there and leave it all out there.”
The quarterfinal showdown is set for Wednesday at 10:40 a.m. ET.
Martin Necas made history in the win over Denmark, becoming the first Czech player to score in three straight Olympics with NHL players participating. His goal broke a scoreless tie early in the second period.
But Denmark wasn’t going away quietly.
Alexander True pounced on a Michal Kempny turnover to tie things up, silencing the pro-Czech crowd.
The deadlock didn’t last long. David Kampf put Czechia back in front just two minutes later, taking advantage of some sloppy defensive coverage by Lars Eller, who was having a rough night after taking a penalty on the first Czech goal.
Then it was time for the veteran to shine. Roman Cervenka, playing in his fifth Olympics at age 40, made it 3-1 with a crafty move that fooled Danish goalie Frederik Andersen.
Nick Olesen – who famously scored the winner against Canada in last year’s World Championship upset – got one back on the power play to keep Denmark’s hopes alive.
The Danes nearly tied it when Oliver Bjorkstrand broke free late in the second period, but his shot pinged off the post.
Czech goalie Lukas Dostal stood tall with 24 saves, including some huge stops after Denmark pulled their goalie in the final minutes.
“We let them win the first one because we knew we couldn’t beat Canada twice in a row,” Necas joked about the upcoming rematch, but they’ll need their best game of the tournament to pull off the upset.
