Slovakia's captain Tomas Tatar has cautioned his team against underestimating host nation Italy in the upcoming Winter Olympics hockey clash. Following a strong win against Finland, Tatar stressed the need for unwavering focus and intensity.

Juraj Slafkovsky became a teen sensation four years ago when Slovakia took bronze in the men's Olympic ice hockey and the now 21-year-old showed he means business at Milano Cortina, scoring two goals as his side beat defending champions Finland in the tournament opener on Wednesday.

In the first Olympics featuring NHL players in a dozen years, the first star of the tournament comes from the AHL. That's the goalie from Iowa playing for Slovakia, Samuel Hlavaj. And no, he hasn't even been good in the AHL this year. Hlavaj ranks 44th in save percentage in AHL action this season, at 88.4%.

While on a vastly different scale, Slafkovský is like the Sidney Crosby of Slovakia, and this could be his breakout moment.

Slovakia plans to file a complaint with the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), contesting the bloc's ban on imports of natural gas from Russia, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced in Bratislava on Tuesday.

SportsLine's expert Mike Tierney reveals his USA vs. Canada picks for their Winter Olympics women's ice hockey matchup on Tuesday in Milan, Italy