And now . . . ll-l-l-l-l-l-let’s get ready to PROGNOSTICA-A-A-A-A-TE! The Peerless is back on the air with Day Three of The Toyota World Cup of Hockey.

We’re 2-1 so far in the prognostos, which is a whole lot better than getting drubbed 22-0 in your own ball park (would YOU like to be a Yankee this morning? Steinbrenner AND the New York dailies . . . oh, joy). Today, though, we have another day-night doubleheader. On the undercard is Czech Republic versus Sweden. Sweden purred along like a cherry-red Volvo C70 in defeating Germany yesterday, 5-2. The Czechs limped along like a rusted out Skoda that needed valve work, never giving Miikka Kiprusoff a need to sweat in losing 4-0 on Monday. But hey, this is all just for seeding, right? . . . right?

Today’s contest is in the Globe Arena . . . again . . . in Stockholm . . . still. Can you say, “home ice advantage?” What, Bettman is trying to get Sweden into the finals ‘cuz he thinks he can score with the Swedish Ice Girls or something? Today’s question is for a V. Ruzicka . . . “coach, you do understand that these games COUNT, don’t you?” Over on the other side of the ice, Coach Nilsson is wondering . . . “can I get Tommy Salo a bigger glove? . . . say, the size of Luxembourg?” This promises to be a high scoring affair, but to find a winner, we go once more to The Cap Factor. The Czechs lead in this critical factor, 1-0. So, The Peerless prognosticates fearlessly that the Swedes will topple the Czechs, 5-3.

The feature matchup today is the Canadians, fresh off their auditions for “Slapshot III: Mario Gets to Fight,” taking on Slovakia. This is the first appearance for the Slovaks in the tournament. Just as well, no one knew they were in it to start with. The Canadians will be coming down off the high of defeating the USGDA, 2-1.

Actually, I had the Lemieux-Konowalchuk bout a draw, as I did the Halpern-Niedermayer scrap. Hope you noticed Marty Brodeur was sporting a new paint job on his mask last night. On one side, it said, “Coupe du Monde,” which I think is a place in New Orleans that serves beignets and coffee. The big question for tonight is, will tonight’s fashion statement be tassels on the skates laces, a la Muhammad Ali? Rumor has it Lemieux is bringing a cut man and Don King. As for last night, those Winnipeg Falcon numbers made one long for Boston’s pooh-bear yellow schemes. In the all-important Cap Factor, the Slovaks hold a 2-0 lead (Stana, Zednik). That makes for a long night for the scrappy Slovakian team. The Canadians will suffer a letdown, but not enough to let the Slovaks slip past . . . 3-2.