For Armia, his tournament with Team Finland concludes tomorrow in the bronze-medal game, against the loser of the game later on today between Team USA and Team Slovakia. Armia has five points (2-3-5) in five games played, tied for second on his team in scoring to this point, behind only Mikko Rantanen of the Dallas Stars. Armia and his teammates will have the opportunity to compete for a medal after a valiant showing in the semifinals. Finland has collected a medal in four of the five tournaments involving NHL players, the most among any nation in the first five tournaments under those conditions. Armia will have an opportunity to contribute towards that number tomorrow, with the bronze-medal game getting underway at 11:40 AM Pacific time.
Tomorrow will be the final day off for Team Canada before competing in the gold-medal game on Sunday. An early start for those of us on Pacific time, at 5:10 AM, but for the first gold-medal game between NHL players in 12 years, that one might just be worth the early alarm. It’ll be Drew Doughty’s third gold-medal game and an opportunity for him to become the first NHL player in history to win three gold medals at the Olympics. Forward Sidney Crosby would join him in that honor, whether he plays or not, but the veteran Pittsburgh forward missed today’s semifinal matchup due to injury.
Kings Medal Round Schedule
Bronze Medal Game (Armia) – Saturday, 2/21 at 11:40 AM Pacific
Gold Medal Game (Doughty, Kuemper, Granger) – Sunday, 2/22 at 5:10 AM Pacific
The bronze-medal game is scheduled to be broadcast on USA Network, while the gold-medal game is scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC.
One potential storyline to watch for, from an LA Kings perspective, is that first game back coming out of the break. Doughty and Kuemper are involved in Sunday’s gold-medal game and there are only two days in between that game and the NHL’s return to play on February 25. However, it’s the Kings’ opponent on that night with more to worry about, as forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone, as well as defenseman Shea Theodore are also on Team Canada. If Team USA advances as well, that contingent would also include forward Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin. Would assume that all of those players would play, unless we hear otherwise, but just something to keep in mind as the players have a long flight back from Italy, with just a little bit of time to recover and get ready to go in that Los Angeles/Vegas game on the 25th.
Kings are on the ice here shortly, with the same group as yesterday likely expected at Toyota Sports Performance Center. Not expecting forward Adrian Kempe back with the team for today’s practice, with eyes on either Sunday’s practice or Tuesday’s practice before we see Kempe back with the team. He’s earned himself a few days off here to rest and recover before the sprint to the finish.
