Group A
Russia
Slovakia
United States
Russia
Group B
FinlandCanada
Norway
Austria
Group C
Czech Republic
Sweden
Switzerland
Latvia
In the group stage, each team plays each other team in its group once. In the Olympics, there is a ten-minute overtime if necessary, after which it goes to a three-man penalty shootout. If the game remains tied after the three-man shootout, in the continuation of the shootout any player may shoot any number of times, unlike the NHL where all skaters have to shoot before going back to the beginning. The shootout even applies to the playoff bracket, unlike the Stanley Cup Playoffs which have an infinite overtime.
The point system is also quite different from the NHL's: Wins are worth more if they happen in regulation. Every game is worth 3 points. If a game ends in regulation, the winner gets all 3 points. If a game ends in overtime or a shootout, the winner gets 2 points, and the loser gets 1.
Afterwards, the four teams with first round byes are seeded 1-4, and the eight teams who have to play in the first round are seeded 5-12.
In the first round, it is 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9.
In one half of the quarterfinals (whose winners will play in one semifinal), 1 faces the winner of 8 and 9, and 4 faces the winner of 5 and 12. In the other half of the quarterfinals (whose winners will play in the other semifinal), 2 faces the winner of 7 and 10, and 3 faces the winner of 6 and 11.
Tiebreaking procedures for two teams in the same group: Head-to-head
Tiebreaking procedures for 3 or 4 teams in the same group:
1. Head-to-head points.
2. Head-to-head goal difference.
3. Head-to-head goals scored.
4. If precisely 3 teams are tied, result of game against 4th team, followed by GD and GF in this game.
5. 2012 IIHF ranking.
If at any point in breaking a 3- or 4-way tie, one or two teams are eliminated but two teams are still tied, then stop going down the list of tiebreaking procedures and instead use the head-to-head result between the two teams to break the tie.
Seeding for teams from different groups is NOT primarily based on total points. Instead, it is based on the following criteria, with total points accumulated actually being the first tiebreaker. The first criterion is what place the team finished in the group (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th). Naturally, there will be ties to break since under this criterion, all 1st place teams, all 2nd place teams, etc. are tied. This is why the tiebreaking procedure of total points accumulated is important.
1. Place.
2. Total points.
3. Goal difference.
4. Goals scored.
5. 2013 IIHF ranking.
The women's tournament is run quite differently from the men's: one group inherently has a huge advantage over the other. This is because all the best four teams in the world, Canada, Finland, Switzerland, and the United States, are all placed in the same group, Group A. Group B consists of the other four teams in the tournament, Germany, Japan, Russia, and Sweden.
In one semifinal, the winner of Group A will face the winner of the A4/B1 first round game, and in the other semifinal, the second place team from Group A will face the winner of the A3/B2 first round game. Tiebreaking procedures within the group are the same as those in the men's tournament.
The Olympics start today (Thursday) at 1 AM ET (10p PT Wednesday) since the East Coast is 9 hours behind Sochi, and the first events start at 10a local time. Television coverage begins Thursday night at 8, and live television coverage begins Saturday morning at 3. All events are broadcast live on nbcolympics.com, and here is the full schedule of events: http://www.nbcolympics.com/results-schedule/sochi-time
I will separately make daily posts about NBC's television schedule of events because this varies greatly from the live schedule of events.
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