The Olympic hockey action is simmering to a boil, as the unprecedented parity has virtually every single quarterfinalist believing it has what it takes to win gold in Turin. And though some teams, like the United States and Switzerland, are unlikely to come out on top,they are both more than capable of pulling off a huge upset.

And though Olympic hockey gets a bad rap for its lack of physical play, this tournament has been chock-full of hard hits and aggression. Much as an influx of youth has energized the NHL game, so too has it brought some much-needed fire to the Olympics, as young players like Russia’s Alexander Ovechkin and Sweden’s Henrik Lundqvist have significantly altered the international balance of power.

Here’s a look at today’s four quarterfinal matchups. Only one result is predictable, and the quality of play and intensity level should be incredibly high in all four games.

FINLAND VS. UNITED STATES

The Finns were the best team in the preliminary round, giving up just two goals – both on the power play to Czech defenseman Marek Zidlicky – in five games. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki has struggled of late between the pipes for the Philadelphia Flyers, but he has been awesome for Finland. Making his job much easier has been the team’s outstanding positional play. Rarely do the Finns allow high-quality scoring chances, and their counterattack and power play have been devastating.

Meanwhile, the Americans have been quite disappointing. Their lack of success has not been due to poor effort, but simply of being overmatched by more talented teams better suited to play on the wider Olympic surface. Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro won the starting job in goal with a strong performance throughout the preliminary round, and he’ll need to be on top of his game if the Americans are to upset Finland. The good news that came out of yesterday’s 5-4 loss to Russia was that the U.S. power play came alive, tallying three goals.

Prediction: Finland 3, USA 2

SWEDEN VS. SWITZERLAND

If the Swedes jump out to an early lead against Switzerland today, look for Flyers forward Peter Forsberg to be anchored to the bench. His wonky groin is cause for great concern both in Sweden and in Philadelphia, and both teams’ championship chances rest upon his injury plagued frame. The differencemaker for Sweden in this tournament, however, will likely be Lundqvist. For the first time since they won gold in 1994 (with a very young Tommy Salo in net), the Swedes believe they have a goaltender talented enough to backstop them to a gold medal.

The Swiss team emerged as the Cinderella story of the preliminary round, earning two hard-fought upsets over medal favorites the Czech Republic and Canada. But a pair of ties (against Germany and Italy) robbed the Swiss team of their momentum.They are unlikely to defeat Sweden unless they receive otherworldly goaltending from either Martin Gerber or David Aebischer.

Prediction: Sweden 4, Switzerland 1

SLOVAKIA VS. CZECH REPUBLIC

It will be a veritable Civil War when these two teams go head to head,as they once comprised the former Czechoslovakia.The Slovaks, like the Finns, went undefeated in the preliminary round, demonstrating that they can emerge victorious whether engaged in a tight defensive struggle or a high-scoring affair. Zdeno Chara makes the Slovak defensive zone a dangerous place for opposing forwards, while the offense – led by Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik, and Marian Hossa – has been deadly. The lone question mark for the Slovaks is in goal, where Peter Budaj remains an unknown quantity.

Tomas Vokoun has been a surprising disappointment thus far, and when he was pulled in favor of Milan Hnilicka after giving up three goals on eight shots against Canada yesterday, the Czech team responded with a furious effort. They allowed eight shots through the final two periods and played like a different team when Hnilicka moved in between the pipes. Could the former Ranger get the start against the Slovaks today?

Prediction: Czech Republic 3, Slovakia 2

RUSSIA VS. CANADA

When Evgeni Nabokov has been in goal for the Russians, they have been virtually unstoppable. He posted two shutouts (against Sweden and Kazakhstan) and gave up only one goal in each of his other two appearances (against the USA and Latvia). Nabokov is fortunate to be playing behind a defense that is dedicated to clearing rebounds and keeping his crease clear.

Once the puck exits the Russian zone, the fireworks begin. Every Russian forward line has breathtaking offensive skill, and they have gotten more dynamic and creative as the tournament as progressed. In particular, youngsters Evgeni Malkin and Ovechkin have emerged as two of the world’s finest two-way forwards, combining dazzling offensive skills with a workmanlike approach to defense and physical play.

The Canadian team has been the surprise of the tournament thus far, and not in a good way. Expected to steamroll to the medal round, they have instead struggled mightily,and now find themselves in a tough predicament. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur suffered a minor knee injury in yesterday’s game against the Czechs, but refused to exit.Whether he’ll cede his spot to Roberto Luongo – or have it taken from him by Pat Quinn – for today’s game is anyone’s guess, but it would seem from this vantage point that Canada is better off with a healthy Luongo than an injured Brodeur.

Prediction: Russia 4, Canada 3

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.