The Swedish mens hockey team capitalized on a quick start and some shaky opposing goaltending to skate to a 4-2 win over the Czech Republic in their opening game of the Olympic tournament at the Bolshoy Ice Dome on Wednesday. Ottawa Senators star defenceman Erik Karlsson scored two goals while his defensive partner Oliver Ekman-Larsson added two assists. Henrik Zetterberg and Patrik Berglund had the other two goals for the Swedes, who jumped to an early 3-0 lead thanks to some suspect goaltending by Czech starter Jakub Kovar. Head coach Alois Hadamczik made the surprising decision to not even dress the teams only NHL goaltender for the teams stiffest test of the preliminary round. Winnipegs Ondrej Pavelec was scratched in favour of KHL goalies Alexander Salak and Jakub Kovar. Kovar got the start, which backfired horribly when he let in three questionable goals before being pulled early in the second and replaced by Salak, who let in the Swedes fourth goal before the Czechs got on the board. Salak settled down after that and kept the Czech Republic in the game, and Marek Zidlicky and Jaromir Jagr scored two quick goals midway through the second period to spark the Czechs. But the Czech Republic couldnt put any more past Swedish goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who kept the lead intact while the Czechs outshot the Swedes 15-5 in the third. Lundqvist made 23 saves for the win, while Kovar and Salak combined for 25 stops in the loss. Swedens next game in Group C is against Switzerland, while the Czech Republic faces Latvia, both on Friday. Quick start from Swedes Sweden carried the play for most of the first period, capitalizing on a couple miscues by Kovar to go ahead 2-0 after 20 minutes. Karlsson scored the opening goal of the Olympic tournament from the point on a delayed penalty halfway through the period, as Kovar struggled to deal with the traffic in front of his net and saw the Swedes shot go through his glove. Berglund made Kovars opening 20 minutes worse by scoring Swedens second goal from a bad angle at 13:17, firing a shot right through the Czech goaltender from outside the left faceoff dot. It didnt get any better for Kovar in the second. Zetterberg scored on another shot that went through the Czech goalie only 51 seconds in. That goal ended Kovars night after Salak came in to replace him. But the switch didnt matter. Karlsson scored his second of the game with a laser from the point with little over three minutes after Salak made his debut. The Czechs clawed their way back into the contest with goals from Zidlicky and Jagr two minutes apart midway through the second, and pushed the Swedes hard for the remainder of the period. Marcus Sorensen Jersey . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened. San Jose Sharks Jerseys . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/aaron-dell-jersey/ .com) - Sixth-seeded Feliciano Lopez was a first-round winner on Monday at the Delray Beach Open tennis event. Barclay Goodrow Sharks Jersey . With the team he supported as a child on the verge of reaching the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 19 years, Ba instead scored the goal that knocked them out. Barclay Goodrow Jersey . Sizemore, who turned 29 on Jan. 4, has been limited to six games over the past two seasons because of an injured left knee that twice required surgery. He originally got hurt on Feb. 25, 2012, during a fielding drill in Oaklands first full-squad spring training workout and had surgery that March 21 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.INDIANAPOLIS - Klay Thompson seized the moment twice Tuesday night. With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. Then, when it seemed the Warriors wouldnt be able to hold off Indianas late charge, he knocked down a 12-foot turnaround jumper with 0.6 seconds to go, giving the Warriors a rare 98-96 victory in Indianapolis. "Well take any win we can get in this building," Thompson said. "This team is real good here. Theyre the best in the NBA (at home). To come here and get a win, its huge, especially on this road trip." Thompson was terrific in his dramatic closing act. He started the quarter by making his first three shots and finished with 16 of his 25 points over the final 12 minutes — none bigger than the baseline fadeaway he hit over George Hill. For the Warriors (37-24), it was a monumental victory. They have won five of six and are 6-2 since the All-Star break. They have matched last seasons road victory total (19), the first time theyve achieved the feat in back-to-back seasons since 1970-71 and 1971-72, and they snapped a six-game losing streak in Indy that dated to Feb. 5, 2007. The victory also gives Golden State the distinction of being the only team in the league this season with wins at Miami, the two-time defending league champion, and at Indiana, which owns the leagues best record and best home record (29-4). The Warriors can thank Thompson for bailing them out after blowing a 13-point lead with less than 6 1/2 minutes to go. "He was great," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "Hes durable and you take him for granted. Hes a guy whos never missed a game. He was big-time." It was a stinging loss for the Pacers (46-14), who had won five straight and could have clinched a playoff spot in front of a sellout crowd. Paul George had 12 points and eight rebounds in the first quarter. He finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, missing a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 23.9 seconds left and the 29-foot buzzer beater that would have won it as he fell into the scorers table. David West had 27 points and seven rebounds. Yet the leagues top-ranked defence allowed Golden State to shoot 44 per ceent from the field and make 10 of 20 3s — the latest uncharacteristic showing against the NBAs third-best team in defending the arc.dddddddddddd The only good thing was that the Pacers didnt lose any ground in the chase for the top seed in the East. Theyre still two games ahead of Miami after the Heat lost at Houston. But West knows the Pacers cant continue to rely on beating up bad teams and cranking up the intensity when necessary. "Mentally, weve got to be way tougher than we are because its time, you know, its just time," West said. "Its just not something that you can just say a week before the playoffs, say, OK. Youve got to work your way into it. But as a group, its time. Weve got a tough three-game trip coming up and its just time." The Warriors sure made things tough on the Pacers. They took a 10-8 first-quarter lead and didnt give it up until Lance Stephenson scored on a layup that made it 56-54 with 7:29 left in the third. Golden State started pulling away again with an 8-0 run late in the third, then fended off another Indiana spurt that got the Pacers to 73-70 after three. Thats when Thompson got involved. After making two free throws, he hit an 18-footer, a 3 and a 16-footer to give Golden State an 84-74 lead. When he hit his third 3 with 6:23 to go, the lead was 92-79 and the Pacers appeared to be doomed. "They caused us to protect the basket, which was a chain reaction to kick the ball out and shoot open 3s," George said. Indiana came right back. West, George and Roy Hibbert accounted for all the points in a 12-0 run that suddenly tied the score at 94 with 2:13 to go. But the Warriors regained the lead on David Lees layup and, after George tied it at 96 with 1:06 left, he missed an open 3. Thompson then hit the go-ahead basket and the Warriors celebrated as Georges potential winner was short. "It felt great. To hit that shot, Im not going to lie, it felt great," Thompson said. "I proved to people I can make that shot and I wanted that shot." NOTES: Stephen Curry had 19 points for the Warriors but did not score in the fourth quarter. ... Stephenson had 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists for Indiana. ... Golden State was 14 of 21 from the free throw line. ' ' 'e ttop-seeded Williams isnt just playing singles this week in Dubai.dddddddddddd She and sister Venus, who also was given a singles wildcard into the main draw, were granted a wildcard into the doubles as well. "I think its actually going to be good for me to do (play singles and doubles) because it will give me some more match play," Williams said. "I need to get used to the conditions and moving so its definitely helpful." Williams, who received a first round bye, will play the winner of the all-Russian encounter between Alisa Kleybanova and Elena Makarova in the second round. In the doubles, the Williams sisters will face the second-seeded Russian pairing of Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the first round. ' ' '