Russia managed to keep the lead despite playing three against five early in the third period, only to concede in equal lineups with ten minutes to play.

Marian Hossa made it 1-1 after a pacey Slovakian counter attack and sent the game into overtime, in which the winner was not found either.

Russia’s coaches put stakes on Aleksandr Ovechkin in the penalty shootout, but the NHL superstar scored just once in three attempts.

After Slovakia matched Ovechkin’s shot in the best of three, it took several more attempts to finally take Russia with the help of Pavol Demitra, who beat keeper Ilya Bryzgalov.

“Today we faced a well-organized team. It was a completely different game compared to our last one [against Latvia]. For us it was a good rehearsal. The opponents played a very tight and concentrated game, and did not let our forwards get into shooting positions. Accordingly, there were not as many chances as we expected. We will now prepare for the next game. Today the guys did not have such excitement and lust for combat as in the first game. Ovechkin was one of the few who tried to show their game, but some were in the shade,” Vyacheslav Bykov, Russia’s coach, told Sportbox.ru.

“It’s good that it happened so early, and we have time to see our weak sides and correct the mistakes. We knew that the Slovakian national team knows how to play on counter attacks, it was no surprise for us – we just didn’t use our chances,” Pavel Datsyuk, Russia’s forward, said.

Despite the loss, the Red Machine, who played in white on the night, still sits in first place of Group B, with 4 points from two games. Second placed Czechs are a point behind with a game in hand.

The Russians will play the Czech Republic in their last game of the group stages, while Slovakia takes on Latvia.

Switzerland battles Canada

Canada also saw their match culminating in a penalty shoot out, but they had more luck than Russia, managing to grab a win against Switzerland.

The Europeans surprised the Olympic hosts by coming from two goals down, making the score level ten seconds before the end of the second period.

A great performance from Swiss keeper Jonas Hiller, who made 45 saves overall, did not allow the Maple Leafs to seal the win in either the final 20 minutes or in overtime.

Canada’s biggest star Sidney Crosby, who was the only scorer in the penalty shootout, gave his country their second win out of two at the Olympics, 3-2.

The score, however, still sees the Canadians failing to catch up with the US squad on top of Group A.

The Americans have six points after easing past Norway 6-1, while Canada is one point behind.