VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- On an evening where the stage already had been set for upsets, Slovakia finished the deal.

Pavol Demitra's goal in the seventh round of the shootout lifted his nation past Russia, 2-1, late Thursday night for one of its greatest Olympic hockey triumphs. And not just because the Russians entered the tournament as one of the gold-medal favorites.

As Slovakia defenseman Zdeno Chara put it, "There was a lot that went into this."

Start with the schedule: Slovakia was the only team forced to play on back-to-back days, this game less than 24 hours after a painful 3-1 loss to the rival Czech Republic.

Then, consider that, in addition to all the Russian forwards the Slovaks had to counter, they also had to deal with the Ultimate Power Play. That might as well have been the nickname for the quintet Russia coach Slava Bykov deployed for the first time: Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Semin up front, Alexander Ovechkin and Sergei Gonchar on the points.

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Yes, really.

Funny thing was, that power play went 0 for 5, mostly because of the superb defense of Chara, matched up all night with Ovechkin.

"Our game plan was to play tough against their top line, and we knew they have some of the most skilled players in the world up front," Chara said. "It wasn't easy, but we found a way to win."

Ovechkin heartily engaged Chara in battle, twice knocking him over. But his long face and terse words afterward easily showed which side fell short.

"It's not frustrating," Ovechkin insisted when asked. "It's good that we lose early but still have a chance to win our group."

Russia and Slovakia are 1-1, with one preliminary-round game left.

And the Ultimate Power Play?

"I thought we did good," Ovechkin said. "And I think it's going to be better."

This certainly was not an upset on the order of what Switzerland nearly did to Canada in the previous game, losing in the shootout on a Sidney Crosby goal. Slovakia's roster has plenty of NHL talent, including a handful of top-shelf players in Chara, Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa. Moreover, Slovakia won its first five games four years ago in Turin, Italy.

That much was evident in the Slovaks' mostly measured reaction.

"We're going to stay low," Demitra said. "We know what we can do."

Neither of the Penguins' participants, Malkin or Gonchar, had a point, but Malkin was dangerous from start to finish. At an individual level, anyway. Chemistry is difficult to detect between Malkin and either of his linemates, Kovalchuk and Maxim Afinogenov, this despite having two full games together.

Aleksey Morozov, formerly of the Penguins, scored Russia's lone goal 5:32 into the second. He one-timed a slap shot -- good luck remembering one of those from his skinnier Pittsburgh days -- from atop the right circle and over Jaroslav Halak.

But Hossa, also formerly of the Penguins, tied the score at 9:48 of the third, a quick-release shot through the pads of Ilya Bryzgalov.

The shootout was a classic.

After the standard round of three shooters each, it went to sudden-death, during which coaches are free to use the same shooter again and again if they wish. Bykov would turn to Ovechkin, the game's best finisher, three times, but Halak beat him each time. Also stopped was Malkin in the seventh round, who tried that agonizingly slow technique that worked with the Penguins two weeks ago, but he ran out of room on this one.

Demitra was next for a second chance. On his first, back in the first round, he skated all the way to the right boards, then cut across the crease only to have the puck poked away.

This time, he swung all the way to the left boards and, as he described it ...

"I waited, waited, waited ..."

And he turned back to his forehand and flipped past Bryzgalov to end it.

"I wasn't happy he stopped me the first time. The next time, I did it right."

Halak made 37 saves.

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