Michal Handzus

Just hours after last night’s Slovakia-Czech Republic game, and a couple of hours before tonight’s Slovakia-Russia match-up, Kings forward Michal Handzus – a native of Banska Bystrica, Slovakia and a three-time Olympian -- spent a few minutes by phone from Vancouver with LAKings.com answering the following questions:

LAKings.com: How does it feel to be back in the Olympics?

Handzus: It has been great so far. For an athlete, the atmosphere is great. You are living in the Olympic Village and the experience has been wonderful so far.

LAKings.com: In that the Games are in Vancouver, does it have a tremendous hockey-feel in particular this time?

Handzus: Absolutely. It is Canada and it is hockey. Hockey is what this place is all about. When Canada played its first game, you could just see the excitement in the city. You can feel it. Hockey is number one and people are watching the other sports, but hockey is the sport here for sure.

LAKings.com: Your team features a number of former Kings. Can you talk about playing with Ziggy Palffy and Jozef Stumpel in particular?

Handzus: It has been good so far. We lost the first game, and that wasn’t good, but you can see them making a difference. For me it is good to be back and playing with them. I didn’t play with them with the Kings but I played with them before in World Championships. They have been great players and hopefully we can come together for that next game.

LAKings.com: What does your team need to do against Russia tonight?

Handzus: Play good defense. The Russians have so many superstars so you have to really bear down on them. You have to play a good overall defensive game. They can score goals but so can we. In short, we have to play good team defense.

LAKings.com: Is your role tonight similar to the role you play with the Kings every night?

Handzus: Pretty much, yes. I want to score goals too but tonight we are the home team so we get the last change. We can work our match-ups more. Hopefully with good match-ups we can do better than last night.

LAKings.com: Will you see any events there other than hockey?

Handzus: I don’t know. I would like to but probably not. We are playing back-to-back games, then have a day off, and then have a game. It can be tough playing three games in four nights. Next week I might be able to. If I get the chance, I will jump at it, but mostly it is hockey and saving your energy for the games.

LAKings.com: Have you had any interaction with Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson, Jonathan Quick or Drew Doughty yet?

Handzus: I have seen Drew one time. I am not sure about the Americans. They might be hiding or something. But I have seen Dewy once and I have seen Dustin a some too.