Olympics: What to Watch on Day 5 --- USA vs. Canada in Women's Hockey; Davis Attempts Three-Peat

Day 5 of the Winter Olympics on Wednesday features a hotly anticipated border brawl between the Canadian and American women's hockey teams and another three-peat pursuit. Here's what you should watch (all times ET).
The 411 on the 12 new Winter Olympic events
All events are live-streamed at NBCOlympics.com. Wednesday's tape-delayed daytime coverage (3 p.m., NBC) includes the Nordic combined. Tape-delayed prime-time coverage (8 p.m., NBC) includes alpine skiing, speed skating, snowboarding and figure skating.

Hockey, women's preliminary round robin — Canada vs. USA
When: 7:30 a.m. on NBC Sports (live); 5 p.m. on NBC Sports (replay)
One of sports' fiercest rivalries resumes in the final Group A round robin match thanks to a new tournament format. Both teams have already booked their semifinal spots after going 2-0 in the group, but the game will determine the seeds and preview the likely gold medal contest, which would be the North American neighbors' fourth Olympic final bout in five Games. Canada has won the last three Olympics, but the U.S., the reigning world champ, won the last four of their best-of-seven friendlies in the lead-up to Sochi.  
Olympic hotties: Who's sizzling beneath the parka?
Speed skating, men's 1,000 meters
When: 9 a.m. (live); 8 p.m. on NBC (tape delay)
A day after Shaun White failed to become the first American man to three-peat in a Winter Olympics event, Shani Davis will attempt to be the first one to do so. The world record holder would also only be the third speed-skater and the first male speed-skater to win three straight golds in the same event after fellow great Bonnie Blair and German Claudia Pechstein. Davis is not unbeatable — Kazakh Denis Kuzin beat him at the world single distance championships last year and was given a two-bedroom apartment by one of his sponsors as a gift.
Figure skating, pairs free skate
When: 10:45 a.m. on NBC Sports (live); 8 p.m. on NBC (tape delay)
Until Chinese tandem Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo's victory in Vancouver, Russia won every pairs gold from 1964 to 2006. Reigning world champs Tatyana Volosozhar and Maksim Trankov, who have the three highest scores of the season, look good to reclaim the gold for the host nation and are in first place after the short program. Germans Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the 2010 bronze medalists in second place after the short, are their biggest threats, having recently defeated them at the Grand Prix final and the European Championships.
Olympic stars to watch
Other medal rounds
- alpine skiing, women's downhill (2 a.m.)
- Nordic combined, men's — normal hill (4:30 a.m.) and individual 10-kilometer (7:30 a.m.)
- luge, doubles (9:15 a.m.)
- snowboarding, women's halfpipe (12:30 p.m.)