The United States looked so good in the second period of its 7-1 rout of Slovakia on Thursday morning that i might have to change my opinion on the Americans’ medal chances. Could be playing for the gold Feb. 23. I mean, if the Kings’ Dustin Brown is scoring goals for the Americans, anything is possible. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was sharp when there was pressure, which wasn’t all that often.

Canada looked so jittery at times in the first period that you almost had to feel sorry for the gold-medal favorites. Drew Doughty’s dance through the Norway defense on his way to the third goal for the Canadians seemed to loosen things up. The Kings’ defenseman accepted a centering pass from the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf and went all Bobby Orr to give the Canadians a 3-1 lead.

Russia’s victory over the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and Slovenia was all too predictable. But despite the flashes of brilliance, there were signs of Russian vulnerability. It shouldn’t have been as tight a game as it was.

Finland has some amazing skills in addition to fine goaltending and maybe I should think about moving them into medal contention, too.