Defending champion Sweden beat Belarus 4-2, while Finland defeated Germany 5-0, setting up a Sweden-Finland, neighbor-vs.-neighbor showdown Sunday that will determine first place in Group C.
It's also a rematch of the gold medal match won by Sweden at the Turin Games four years ago.
"It's always been a great rivalry, not only hockey but in all sports," Swedish defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said.
"It will be a tough game and a fairly even game, too. It's always a fun game to be a part of. It's something that goes way back." The Czechs will also have a big game Sunday. They moved ahead of Russia in Group B with a 5-2 win over Latvia, but now must face the Russians in their quest to hold on to that lofty spot.
"It's going to be special because they're one of the favorites," said Czech veteran Jaromir Jagr, who scored his second goal of the Olympics. "Sometimes you want easy games. But once you retire, you're going to remember those games and moments. That's why I want to play Russia and hopefully play Canada in Canada. That would be something special for me." Jagr is among the members of the old guard making an impression at these Winter Games. Not only is he playing well, but the 18-year veteran of the NHL said he might return to the North American league after two seasons in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.
"They treat me so well in Russia, but at the same time, maybe I want to try to play here," said the 38-year-old Jagr, who won two Stanley Cup titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Meanwhile, 39-year-old Teemu Selanne of Finland set an Olympic record with his 37th career point in Finland's victory. Selanne helped set up Kimmo Timonen's goal in the second period, a 17th Winter Games assist to go with 20 goals.
"It's not going to change my life right now," Selanne said. "For sure, it's going to be huge someday. If somebody would've told me 20 years ago what's going to happen, I would've said `You've got to be crazy. That's not possible.' I'm very happy, but it's time to move on." Selanne had shared the record with Russia's Valeri Kharlamov, Vlastimil Bubnik of the former Czechoslovakia and Canada's Harry Watson.
"When we were kids and we grew up watching the Olympics and the worlds, they were just on a different planet," Finland's Mikko Koivu said. "You never thought a Finnish player would be able to compete against those guys and now he passed them all." Timonen scored twice, and Tuomo Ruutu, Jarkko Ruutu and Joni Pitkanen also scored for the Finns, who won sliver four year ago. Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves to get the shutout in his Olympic debut.
Sweden's 4-2 win offered delayed revenge for a stunning 4-3 loss to Belarus in the 2002 Olympics. Daniel Alfredsson had two goals, and Daniel Sedin and Johan Franzen also scored for the Swedes, who would have preferred more than a two-goal victory in the rematch - just to be on the safe side.
"I don't know if we really wanted to have it this close, but it's good to not have blowouts right away," said Swedish forward Peter Forsberg, who played in the 2002 game. "We would've liked to have had more goals, but hopefully we can build on this." The Czech Republic's game against Latvia was essentially decided in the opening minutes, when the Czechs scored three goals before allowing a shot.
Jagr, Tomas Plekanec, David Krejci, Tomas Kaberle and Patrik Elias accounted for the Czechs' five goals, while Kristaps Sotnieks and Girts Ankipans scored for Latvia.
"Their speed, we couldn't match up," Latvia captain Karlis Skrastins said.
