Mike Milbury and controversy are real good friends. Sometimes he's found using shoes in various ways; or inciting Washington Capitals fans by calling them the "Crapitals"; or mixing it up with bloggers outside of an elevator. To the hockey community, Milbury is that crazy uncle who embarrasses everyone around him whenever he opens his mouth.

Go back to Tuesday night when Milbury described the pep talk German coach Uwe Krupp likely gave to his team while they were getting rolled over by the Canadians:

"He's asking his guys to just basically be fire hydrants and they're getting peed on right now."

Huh. Interesting twist to the old cliche "They're getting spanked". Definitely more creative and much more imaginative. Give him credit for that.

During last night's Canada-Russia postgame, "Mad" Mike used another set of interesting words while describing the disappointing performance of the Russians in their 7-3 loss, including the tiff between Alexander Semin(notes) and Dan Boyle(notes) that ended with a slew foot. Here's the text of the entire exchange with Milbury along with Bill Patrick and Jeremy Roenick(notes):

MILBURY: "Disappointing. Even at the end, the chippiness at the end by Semin. Too little, too late. This was a no-show game. They were intimidated from the beginning, maybe because it was the Olympics, maybe it's in Canada, and maybe, just maybe, it was the physical play of the Canadiadns.

I don't blame Dan Boyle for going right after Semin on this one. Look at Semin trying to get out of the way. I know this is an illegal hit, with just under 3 minutes to go with a four goal lead, that's not what you do, that's not cool, that's not what you do, that's not how you behave JR unless there's a personal grudge or history, I don't blame Boyle for getting right in his face.

...

I was shocked that it was this onesided and I was really disappointed that these guys came with their, their, Eurotrash game. There was just no heart, no guts, no nothing there to back it up. I mean, Alex Ovechkin(notes) was an average player tonight. I know they're going to bounce back, but to be that poor, and to be that intimidiated physically by the Canadians was really as shock to me."

PATRICK: "Did you really say Eurotrash. Did that come out of your mouth?"

MILBURY: "It did."

PATRICK: "OK, just for the record."

ROENICK: "I heard it! I heard it!"

(Regarding the Boyle-Semin incident: an IIHF spokeman told us tonight that they normally do not review minor penalties in international play and it's unlikely they will do so in this instance, so don't expect Boyle to be suspended for Friday's semifinal.)

So what should NBC do in this case?

As expected, the outrage over Milbury's use of "Eurotrash" began immediately after the word left his lips. The criticism will only continue to grow tomorrow, especially since it's an off day before Friday's semifinals. Should Milbury be punished for his remarks? Puck the Media's Steve Lepore thinks a simple one-day disappearance should be Milbury's penance:

"Now, NBC can’t wipe Mad Mike off the map completely right here.  That’d be overreacting to a single remark, and show NBC as far too hypersensitive, when in the end, it was merely words.  Still, something needs to be done.  My suggestion: Keep Milbury off the air until Sunday’s gold-medal game.  NBC has two days of men’s hockey telecasts left before then, and quietly let Roenick have the show, especially if NBC will use Al Michaels to host the Team USA game again on Friday."

Everyone knows Milbury's purpose on NBC. He's their attempt at an American Don Cherry, minus the awesome fashion sense and detailed hockey knowledge. Milbury is there to be the hated guy and sometimes, as we've seen in Cherry's case on Hockey Night in Canada, opinions can go over the line. In this situation, Milbury tried too hard to bash the Russian's no-show in the one of the tournament's most highly anticipated games and went over the line.

NBC may succumb to the criticisms and take Milbury off the air for a day or the rest of the Olympic. Or they'll just continue to do what they've done best the past two weeks and not listen to anyone.

Here's video courtesy Mediaite:

Did you catch the look on Jeremy Roenick's face? Is there ever a time that that guy is caught speechless?

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Swedes have been cruising through this Olympic hockey tournament without much incident. Henrik Lundqvist(notes) has yet to give up a goal. Their lines have been static (and in the case of the Alfredsson/Backstrom/Eriksson line, outstanding). They don't necessarily dominate; they just win.

Slovakia survived a surprising challenge from VIKINGSTAD! and the Norwegians, and of course beat the Russians in the prelims. Winner draws the sudden Canadian juggernaut.

We'll be offering live thoughts on this game throughout the night/morning (hi, East Coast). Use the comments as an open thread, and check back here for news and views.

(Jump for blog.)

First Period

Like with the U.S game, there are plenty of empty seats in the lower bowl, including entire rows near the glass.

Pretty uneventful first period between the teams. Slovakians had 4:05 of power play time, the Swedes had five seconds of it. Shots were 7-7. Evenly played period of hockey. Quite a change from the previous game.

From Chris Botta: "165 straight scoreless minutes and counting for Henrik Lundqvist - a new Olympic record." Hey now.

Second Period

Slovakia 1-0; 7:34 (PPG)

With Patric Honrqvist in the box, the Slovaks strike on the power play. Marian Hossa(notes) sent a pass across the zone to Marian Gaborik(notes) for a one-timer into a wide open net. Henrik Lundqvist, playing with a player stick and his goalie stick on the ice behind the cage, didn't have a chance.

Chara went over to Gabby, hugged him, and they fell to the ice. One harder than the other, we imagine.

Slovakia, 2-0; 7:49

Whoa, and suddenly the defending gold medalists are on the ropes. Richard Zednik(notes) makes an end to end rush, sends a perfect backhand pass around Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) to defenseman (!) Andrej Sekera(notes), who puts it behind Lundqvist. Wow, Sweden fans are stunned in here.

Sweden, 2-1 (Slovakia lead); 13:49

Forsberg doesn't have the feet. Still has the hands. Feeds Hornqvist in front with a nice pass from behind the net, and the Swedes are back in it.

Sweden 2-2; 14:26

Well that was fast. Henrik Zetterberg(notes) sends a pass in front to a charging Forsberg. The puck goes off the massive thigh of Milan Jurcina(notes) and behind Jaroslav Halak(notes). New game.

Slovakia, 3-2; 19:13 (PPG)

With Tobias Enstrom(notes) in the box, Pavol Demitra(notes) fires one past Henrik Lundqvist, as Hank was screened by his own D-man, Mattias Ohlund(notes). Painful goal for the Swedes that late in the period, but we bet they'd rather this than down 2-0.

Third Period

Swedes are playing confident hockey in the Slovak zone, but just can't crack the defense. There's no panic; yet. But it's clear the Slovakia's willing to stack five at the blue line if they need to.

Slovakia, 4-2 (9:01)

Forsberg sent a pass across the offensive zone that misses, and then Slovakia went off the races. Zetterberg was gassed, and so was Nik Kronwall on defense. Marian Hossa found Tomas Kopecky(notes) in front for the tip home past Lundqvist. But ...

Sweden, 4-3 (Slovakia lead; 9:39)

One of the best lines of the tournament strikes again, as Nicklas Backstrom(notes) finds Daniel Alfredsson(notes) to answer the Slovak goal. If Sweden pulls this one out on a bad night for King Henrik, it'll be incredible.

Final: 4-3 Slovakia

Intensity is everything here. The Swedes never found theirs. They played professionally and without panic; maybe they needed some. The scramble at the end didn't even reach that fever pitch of chaos that 6-on-5 scrambles often do. Sad to see Forsberg go; it was a kick. Could be Lidstrom's last go, to. Hell of a team.

The Slovaks advance to meet the Canadians. Client Jaroslav Halak of the Canadiens, trying to prevent Canada's team from winning gold. Delicious.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Russia's 7-3 loss to Canada in their Olympic hockey quarterfinal game is one of the most definitive, declarative and emphatic emasculations the sport has seen in decades. The fans chanted "we want Russia" after Canada's win over Germany; how many knew Canada would dismantle this hockey empire once it got them?

There's no way around it: Russia was embarrassed. To the point where Russian NHL player participation in the 2014 Games in Sochi is now guaranteed; there's no other way to cleanse the stench from this defeat.  This game was supposed to be a classic. Instead, it was a coronation for the Canadians in this rivalry.

Evgeni Nabokov(notes) was pathetic. As bad as goaltender has been in this tournament. The 23 shots he faced before he was pulled were the fault of his defenders; the six goals were his own folly. His mistimed slide on Rick Nash's(notes) goal, which gave Canada a 3-0 lead, was his worst moment until he allowed a shot by Brendan Morrow to squeeze through him and over the goal line, like a dog leaving an ignominious present on its owner's stoop. The sixth goal he allowed came 57 seconds after the fifth. The questions about his status as a clutch goaltender have never been more validated.

The defense was pathetic. Unable to move Canadian players from Nabokov's sight line. Unable to defend odd-man Canadian rushes. Their may be a "D" in "forward," but there sure wasn't any in these tentative, meandering Russian wingers.

The non-NHL players were pathetic. The Russians have nine players on their roster from their native Kontinental Hockey League. There were a combined minus-9 with two points, getting outclassed and outcompeted by their counterparts in every zone. They were warm bodies, background players to Canada's stars.

Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, Alex Ovechkin(notes) was pathetic, a non-factor in one of the most high-profile games of his career: no goals, no assists, three shots on goal and nothing noteworthy off the stat sheet.

His line with Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin(notes) and fellow Washington Capitals winger Alex Semin was dominated early by Canada's fourth line of Mike Richards(notes), Jonathan Toews(notes) and especially Rick Nash. He broke three sticks: two on shots, one on a Canadian slash. He gave his critics fodder on a defensive lapse on Weber's goal; cue the NoBackCheckin' crowd.

With 11:25 left in the game, Hockey Place echoed with a mocking chant of "Ooooooovieeeee."

With 7:45 left, he took a Toews shot off his hand and skated to the bench in obvious pain. He returned, but was ineffective.

His defenders will cite Sidney Crosby's(notes) silent night (0-0-0) as being just as bad, but the fact is that Russia needed Ovechkin more than Canada needed Crosby; because what the hockey world discovered in these 60 minutes was that Canada is a hockey superpower while Russia was only billed as one.

The fans chanted "We Want Gold" at the end of the game. It's the only thing that could top this moment for Canadian hockey.

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What else is there to say other than, "dang, wish this was for the gold medal?" Sidney, Roberto, Evgeni, Alex, Summit Series, red and blue vs. red and white, hopes of a nation, potential elimination, hockey superpowers ... you know the drill.

This is an instant classic in the making.

As we said in our preview of the game this morning: The Canadians enter this game having helped establish their lines and getting some momentum in their win over Germany. We picked them to win; let's see how it plays out.

Please join yours truly and the usual gang of knuckleheads from Yahoo! Sports' Puck Daddy hockey blog and Fourth-Place Medal Olympic blog for complete coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST. Click the image or here to jump to the chat! Tell a friend, and, as always, bring the funny.