There was a reason why Pat LaFontaine hired Ted Nolan to be his interim head coach for the Sabres.
Though Nolan, the former coach of the Islanders, may not the long-term solution for the habitually hapless NHL team up in Buffalo, he is showing some worth behind the bench with the way he has led the Latvian national team — really, Latvia — to the quarterfinals after a 3-1 upset victory over Switzerland Tuesday. Predicted to finish last among the 12 qualifying countries, the team Nolan took over in 2011 did not win a game in the group stage and was the No. 11 seed facing the fifth-seeded Swiss.
Two first-period goals flustered the Swiss, who had given up just one goal total during the three group-stage matches. Once Latvia held off a second-period goal before putting in a late empty-netter, it set up a quarterfinal matchup Wednesday against the powerhouse Canadians (noon, MSNBC).
The Latvians have one current NHL player — 20-year-old forward Zemgus Girgensons from Nolan’s Sabres — yet eight of their 18 skaters play for the same team, Dinamo Riga, in the Russian-based KHL, including former Rangers defenseman and team captain, 41-year-old Sandis Ozolinsh (spelled Ozolins on his jersey).
It wasn’t exactly a dominating performance for the home country on Tuesday, as Russia held just a 2-0 lead with under two minutes remaining over 12th-seeded Norway. After an empty-netter sealed a three-point night for former NHLer Alexander Radulov, the Russians went on to win 4-0.
Facing a much tighter Finland team Wednesday (7:30 a.m., NBCSN), along with a superior goaltending in Tuukka Rask, the Russians are going to have their hands full if they don’t want to disappoint President Vladimir Putin.
When the Rangers return to action next week, they could be without leading scorer Mats Zuccarello, as the diminutive Norwegian forward did not play against Russia because of an injured hand.
The Rangers said they had no further information on the injury.
Slovenia buried Austria, 4-0, and advanced to meet top-seeded Sweden (3 a.m., NBCSN). The game finished a terrific tournament for Islanders forward Michael Grabner, who led all scorers with five goals in four games.
Carl Hagelin, the Rangers’ Swedish winger who left his team’s 5-3 win over Latvia on Saturday after the second period, is expected to rejoin the lineup for the game against Slovenia. According to a Swedish news outlet, he was taken from the game for “precautionary reasons.”