Men's hockey Czech Republic vs Slovakia live stream: Watch online free Tuesday 12:00 p.m. ET as the winner of this qualification matchup will move on to face USA on Wednesday.

This men's hockey qualification game at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi will feature the seventh seed in the Czech Republic (1-2) vs Slovakia (0-3), as the 10th seed. Watch the free live stream online as the winner will get USA on Wednesday as the Americans finished second overall after the preliminary rounds.

Watch the free live stream online of men's hockey - Czech Republic vs Slovakia 

Date: Tuesday Feb. 18
Start Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV Info: NBC Sports Network
Live Stream: NBC Olympics Live Extra or NBC Olympics.com   

Slovakia lost 7-1 to open up the Olympic Games. They followed that with a 3-1 loss to Slovenia. They decided to go to their third goal in Jan Laco, rather than NHL goaltenders in Jaroslav Halak and Peter Budaj. Laco didn't allow a goal to Russia after 60 minutes, but ultimately lost the game in a shootout.

"[Laco] was amazing. He kept us in the game," defenseman Andrej Meszaros told NHL.com. "We had some chances, but we helped him too defensively. That's what teams do. The goalie helps us, and we help the goalie."

Laco made 36 saves, 15 in the third period, to help force Russia into a qualifying-round game against Norway while boosting the Slovaks' confidence.

"I really thought we had good bounce-back after [Saturday against Slovenia]," captain Zdeno Chara said. "We just have to build on that and get ready for our next opponent. You always have a chance in this tournament no matter what you do in your first games. You can still move along if you win that do-or-die game. We have to get ready for that."

After starting 1-1, the Czechs lost by a score of 1-0 to Switzerland on Saturday. This veteran team hopes to have forward Patrik Elias back from an illness after they couldn't get by Jonas Hiller.

"Both teams had their chances, but I think we had a little bit more," Czech goalie Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 25 shots in defeat Saturday, told NHL.com. "Their goalie played really well, and we hit the post twice. If you don't score a goal, you can't win. I think they have a good defensive system, and it is tough to play against them when they score a goal [early]."