Men's hockey Olympics Finland vs Austria live stream: Watch online free 3:00 a.m. ET Thursday as Group B gets underway.

The Finland vs Austria matchup to start pool-play for men's hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia has Finland as a 3 1/2-goal favorite. With the three NHL goaltenders they have going with them into these Olympic Games, it's going to be hard for Austria to get anything by. Watch the free live stream online as an offense with only three NHL pros on attack try to get by either Lehtonen of Dallas, Niemi of San Jose or Rask of Boston is in net for Finland.

Watch the free live stream online of men's hockey action at the Olympics: Finland vs Austria below

Date: Thursday Feb. 13
Start Time: 3 a.m. ET
TV Info: NBC Sports Network
Live Stream: NBC Olympics Live Extra or NBC Olympics.com    

New York Islanders forwards Thomas Vanek and Michael Grabner will represent their native country, along with Philadelphia Flyers forward Michael Raffl for Austria as they are huge underdogs in these Olympics.

"It's an honor to play for your country, especially on a stage like this," Vanek told the Islanders website. "For us, it's fun to be there. We have a tough task ahead of us. It comes down to goaltending and we'll have to play smart, but we have some guys in the lineup that can make plays. Are we going to be huge underdogs? We will be, but we have to play smart."

Rask is tied for fifth in the NHL with 25 wins while boasting a 2.11 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. The 26-year-old gets his first taste of Olympic hockey and will have to be sharp to maintain playing time with these three top-notch goalies.

"I'm sure it's going to be a great experience," Rask told the Bruins website. "I think every time you get to play with your countrymen, it's something special. I'm really looking forward to that. Hopefully we'll win some games too so it's not just a vacation."

Rask will get the nod between the pipes, according to NBC Sports Network moments before the drop of the puck.