A viewing guide to what's on tap for Canada on Day 13 of the Games.

Afternoon: The women's giant slalom (TSN, 1:30 and 4:30, all times ET) is the major event of the afternoon. Canada's men's cross country team, coming off a slew of top-10 finishes, has an outside medal shot in the men's 4 x 10-km relay classic/free (2:15, CTV/RDS/RIS/APTN).

Canada's flag bearer, Clara Hughes, competes in her final Olympic race, women's 5,000-metre speedskating (CTV, 4).

Quarter-final hockey action begins with the Switzerland-U.S. game (3, Rogers Sportsnet/V).

Incidentally, it has been a treat to find out Swiss defenceman Mathias Seger's last name has the same pronunciation as "Sager." It makes up for a lifetime of getting the same pronunciation as Bob Seger.

Evening: And nothing else matters ... it's Canada-Russia in a men's hockey quarter-final (7:30, CTV/V/OMNI1/OMNI2), the most significant hockey game played in this country between the rivals since Sept. 15, 1987, five weeks after Sidney Crosby

Each night, Fourth-Place Medal will pick a gold, silver, and bronze medal from among Canada's competitors.

Canuck gold: Joannie Rochette (third in women's figure skating after short program). No one can truly understand what it took for her to skate well under such circumstances, with the emotions so raw.

Canuck silver: Ashleigh McIvor (gold, women's ski cross). The gold medalist has to get second billing on this day. She won each heat, living up to her credo that luck has little to do with ski cross.

For the record, McIvor did get an A on Canada's most famous university essay, the one she wrote eight years ago about adding ski cross to the Olympics. Inquiring minds want to know how she managed to get to write on such a topic. Typically in first-year university, you're stuck writing about Beowulf.

Canuck bronze: Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse (first in women's bobsled after second run). They hold a lead of 0.13 second heading into the final two runs, after twice setting a track

Did you watch women's figure skating Tuesday night? Good. Because if you missed it, you missed out on record-breaking and emotional short programs. Yu-Na Kim, Mao Asada, and Joannie Rochette brought their best to the ice and landed at the top of the standings.

Asada struck first. The Japanese skater landed a triple axel/double toe loop combo. Asada is the only woman in the competition who has landed the triple axel, and she did it deftly Tuesday evening. Asada, the world champion in 2008, finished her routine with beautiful footwork and spins. Asada's skate earned her a 73.78, giving her first place for the moment.

Immediately after Asada, it was Kim's turn. The South Korean is the reigning world and Grand Prix champion, and has had a long rivalry with Asada. Skating to the James Bond theme, Kim completed a triple/triple combination that actually garnered a higher score than Asada's triple axel/double toe loop combo. Kim moved across the ice with grace and confidence, truly embodying

By now you know the tragic tale of Joannie Rochette, the 24-year-old Canadian figure skater who lost her mother to a heart attack Sunday in Vancouver. Rochette competed Tuesday night in Vancouver, skating the women's short program. In the wrong hands, this emotional evening – a skater competing in the Olympics while her mother's funeral has yet to take place – could have been broadcast as exploitative schmaltz. NBC, however, didn't go that route and distinguished itself with restrained but touching coverage of Rochette's skate.

Before Rochette took the ice, Bob Costas sat down with former speedskater Dan Jansen, who himself has some practice in performing on the world's biggest stage after the loss of a loved one. (Jansen's sister Jane died on the day of his 500m race in the Calgary Games.) Jansen said he sent Rochette an email in which he wrote the following:

I don't know if you can prepare for the emotions you're going to feel out there, but if you can get through it there are

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- An absolutely ghastly scene occurred at 6:01 of the first period of Slovakia's qualifying round game against Norway, with Slovakian forward Lubos Bartecko taking an elbow from defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, losing his helmet as he fell and then hitting his head on the ice.

Blood began pooling under his head, and Bartecko was motionless. Training staff came out first; medical staff some time later.

After about 10 minutes, and after a stack of towels was placed under Bartecko's head, he was put on a board and lifted into a stretcher, leaving the ice. Workers when used shovels to shave off the blood-stained ice before play resumed.

Tollefsen received 25 minutes in penalties, including a match penalty for "Checking to the Head and Neck Area" and a five-minute major during which Michal Handzus and Marian Gaborik scored for Slovakia. It was a reprehensible head shot from the recent Detroit Red Wings acquisition.

We'll update with more information on this

Though they weren't expected to be among the world's best, American figure skaters Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu found themselves in the top six going into the Thursday's free skate, with Flatt in fifth and Nagasu in sixth.

Mirai Nagasu, who trains in California with men's gold medalist Evan Lysacek, earned 63.76 for her short program, a season high. She took to the ice early in the evening, and her jumps were flawless, though she did decide to not attempt a triple-triple jump combination, opting instead to do a triple lutz into a double toe loop. Her spins -- known as some of the best in figure skating -- showed off her flexibility and speed.

After the program, Nagasu came off the ice with a bloody nose. She seemed bothered by the fact that she had bailed on her triple/triple combination, but her 63.76 was a personal best.

Nagasu's teammate Rachael Flatt -- the U.S. champion -- skated second to last. Flatt skated a sassy program to "Sing, Sing, Sing," and landed a triple/triple

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Canada dominated Germany 8-2 on Tuesday. Can it be said that the best thing to happen to the Canadians was losing to the U.S.?

It can, but it'd be wrong. Not when Canada has to go through Russia on Wednesday before a potential meeting with Sweden, and that's just to get to the gold-medal game.

Coach Mike Babcock cited the arduous paths to the gold for the 2006 Swedes and the 2002 Canadians in his postgame comments, harkening back to his notion after the U.S. game that Canada's simply on a "different path" to the championship. Unfortunately, it's the difference between a people-mover from the airport and crawling through a field of broken glass.

So we'll say this: Canada is a better team having played a qualification-round game before playing Russia.

All four lines clicked for the first time. The special teams hummed like machines. Roberto Luongo was able to get a game in before facing the Russian arsenal. And don't underestimate the spiritual cleansing

Canadian Joannie Rochette skated a technically strong and incredibly moving short program Tuesday night, just days after the death of her mother. Her program scored her a 71.36, her personal best and a score that has her in third place going into Thursday's long program.

The crowd began a rousing cheer for her before Rochette's name was even called. She skated well, landing a triple Lutz/double toe loop combination, a triple flip, and a double axel. Her spins and spirals were also spot-on. Rochette didn't lose any value in her grade of execution, showing a technically strong program.

As she ended her routine, the crowd at the Pacific Coliseum came to its feet, and Rochette broke down in tears. She stayed on the ice as long as she could, crying while also acknowledging the support of the 11,700 in the arena. In the "kiss and cry" area, she hugged her coach while hearing her best-ever score.

It's hard to imagine the strength that it took for Rochette to get on the ice and perform that