Kessel's hat trick was the result of Team USA's best line in the Sochi Games, built of Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs linemate James van Riemsdyk and Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks. The combination is all the better for reuniting Kessel and Pavelski, linemates in the Vancouver Games.

On Saturday, the Americans defeated Russia 3-2 in a shootout, with four goals by T.J. Oshie .

Like Kessel, Pavelski was hot in the final weeks of the NHL season, and on Sunday contributed to another solid U.S. effort with a goal.

Ryan Miller made his first appearance in goal for the United States, allowing only a late goal in the romp.

With Russia surviving a stiff challenge from underwhelming Slovakia — 1-0, in what was the Slovaks' best game of the Olympic tournament — teams now head into the next round of competition.

The Russians needed a shootout to win. Alexander Radulov and Ilya Kovalchuk scored, saving the shutout for Semyon Varlamov. The Slovaks used Jan Laco in goal in place of Jaroslav Halak.

The United States is unbeaten.

Kessel now has four goals and three assists in three games.


CZECHS OR SLOVAKS NEXT FOR USA


When the United States plays its next game at the Sochi Olympics, it'll be against either Slovakia or the Czech Republic.

When Canada-Finland went to overtime, it guaranteed that Team USA, after its bye, would play the winner of the Czech-Slovak game in the quarterfinals. Canada, by virtue of its win, plays the winner of Switzerland-Latvia.

Had the game ended in regulation, the U.S. would've been in that situation. The Swiss team has looked stronger thus far in the tournament, and goalie Jonas Hiller is a player any team would like to avoid  — so the Americans have that going for them.

The flipside, though, is that the Czechs and Slovaks both boast rosters with more NHL players, particularly at forward.

In any case, a Canada-United States matchup could take place in the semifinals. Not that anyone is looking too far ahead.

Neither Canada nor the U.S. can face Russia, Sweden or Finland until the gold-medal game.

The other qualifying matchups are Slovenia vs. Austria (with the winner meeting Sweden) and Russia-Norway (with the winner playing Finland).

Some other thoughts:

— Slovenia and its Seattle Seahawks jerseys, crazy as it sounds, should make the quarterfinals. They looked good in their first two games before running into the U.S., and should be able to take care of Austria. It probably ends there, though. Sweden is banged up, but their talent alone should be enough against the Slovenes.

— Russia, assuming it beats Norway, should face Finland in the quarters. The Finns have been crushed by injuries, particularly up front, but Tuukka Rask is good enough to beat anyone. The Russians, meanwhile, were uneven against Slovenia, lost to the U.S. in a shootout and needed another shootout to beat Slovakia.

— The Czech-Slovak game is going to be intense; those teams have battled each other since Czechslovakia broke up, and many of the players grew up playing against each other.

— We're guaranteed to miss out on another United States-Canada final. That's a bummer, but Russia against anyone, really, for gold would make up for a whole lot in the entertainment department.

WEBER’S FIERCE SHOT

Shea Weber's shots are always terrifying. During the Olympics, he turns it up to Mach 5.

In 2010, for example, the Canadian put a hole in a net. In 2014, he's already scored on two howitzers from the blue line — and, thankfully, did not kill teammate Patrice Bergeron.

Yes, Bergeron took a Weber slapshot to the midsection Sunday against Finland and lived to tell the tale. He actually came back in the game — and remember, this is a guy with a history of rib problems.

Afterward, Weber summed it up. According to a tweet by Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times, Weber said, "(Bergeron)’s a warrior. You saw that in the playoffs. He’s going to play through anything."

Contributors: Sean Gentille, The Associated Press