Once we were brothers

"Well, maybe it is," said veteran Petr Nedved when asked if Slovakia remained the top rival of the Czechs. "But for us, it's just a game that we have to win. That's the way it is. If you don't, you go home. So there's no point to looking at it as a rivalry."

The play-off game marks a surprisingly early meeting in the elimination rounds for two countries who have boasted consistent top-level teams in recent generations. The Czechs, who are ranked No 4 by the IIHF, finished third in group C, and were seeded seventh. The Slovaks, ranked No 8 by the IIHF, finished last in group A and were seeded 10th. Both teams suffered shutout losses during the group stage to nations not considered traditional hockey powerhouses. Slovakia suffered a stunning 3-1 loss to 17th-ranked Slovenia, who was playing in its first Olympic Games, while the Czechs lost 1-0 to rapidly-improving Switzerland. The drop-off for the former compatriots has been sudden.

Though not a 'best-on-best' tournament that included NHL players, both countries won medals at the 2012 world championships, with the Slovaks claiming silver and the Czechs taking bronze. The Slovaks had their best Olympic-showing ever in Vancouver 2010, finishing fourth and nearly tying eventual gold medalist Canada late in the semifinals.

With the struggles of the two traditional powers at Sochi 2014, there will be room for new faces in the quarterfinals as Slovenia and Austria demonstrated

"That's where we want to be in the future, too, that when we come to these tournaments we compete and win some games. I think the balance of power is going to be with the big four or five all the time, but I think the other countries are catching up now, and it's very positive for the game of hockey." said Austrian coach Emmanuel Viveiros

Nedved, 42, cited the Swiss success at the last year's world championships as evidence that the balance of power was shifting.

"Yeah, if you look at the last world championships, the Swiss lost the last game of the tournament against Sweden," said Nedved. "That's showing you something. There's no question about it. Everybody can skate really well, and the gap, it's closing. You don't really have bad teams anymore."

The future does not necessarily look brighter for the Czechs and Slovaks, with no clear sign of major talent in the pipeline for either nation. The Czechs have not won a medal at the world Under-20 championship since 2005; the Slovaks have gone medalless since 1999. When asked what the Czechs could do to keep the gap from closing further, Nedved laughed and shook his head. "That's not a question for me," he said, smiling. "You'd have to ask somebody else."

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