The 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament has probably been the biggest disappointing ever for Team Russia. The early quarterfinal elimination against Team Canada was the worst result ever.
As soon as the tournament was over for Russia, we published the Top 5 reasons for this fail, now RussianHockeyFans.com judged all the players on the roster.
The Russian team practiced for the second time in Vancouver.
According to the Russian channel "Russia 2" the lines were:
Ovechkin - Datsyuk - Semin, Grebeshkov - Korneev.
Kovalchuk - Malkin - Afinogenov, Gonchar - Tyutin.
Zaripov - Zinoviev - Morozov, Markov - Nikulin.
Radulov - Fedorov - Kozlov, Kalinin - Volchenkov.
"I was sure that our line would look like that", said Evgeni Malkin to Russia 2. "I agree with the coaches, it's an optimal combination".
"I supposed that our line would look like that because we played together during the Olympic camp", Ilya Kovalcuk told Russia 2. "It is a good, interesting and dynamic line. I think if we try hard we can be very useful to the team."
Translation by RussianHockeyFans.com
After the Habs lost 4-3 in an overtime to the St. Louis, Russian defenceman Andrei Markov had something to say to their goalie Carey Price.
According to the TEAM990 radio, Markov told Price "If you are not going to play with heart, stay home. We don't need you here."
The same radio station reported that some players supported Markov while some part of the team sided with Price.
The Montreal Canadiens didn't comment on the situation yet.
The official Russian Hockey Federation site has released Team Russia's roster for the Olympics in Vancouver.
Goalkeepers
Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks, NHL
Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes, NHL
Semyon Varlamov, Washington Capitals, NHL
Defencemen
Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens, NHL
Ilya Nikulin, Ak Bars, KHL,
Dmitriy Kalinin, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Konstantin Korneev, CSKA, KHL,
Denis Grebeshkov, Edmonton Oilers, NHL
Fedor Tyutin, Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL
Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL
Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa Senators, NHL
Forwards
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings, NHL
Sergei Fedorov, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, KHL
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers, NHL
Maxim Afinogenov, Atlanta Thrashers, NHL
Danis Zaripov, Ak Bars, KHL
Alexander Semin, Washington Capitals, NHL
Sergei Zinoviev, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Alexander Radulov, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Viktor Kozlov, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, NHL
Alexei Morozov, Ak Bars, KHL
Russia's coaches Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Zakharkin call this roster 'preliminary' and say that the final roster will be known on the 15th of February.
9 out of 23 players represent the KHL which makes its slightly less than 40%.
4 players come from Salavat Yulaev of the KHL, the team coached by Bykov and Zakharkin.
Habs' Andrei Markov and Thrashers' Maxim Afinogenov liked joke when they played for Dynamo Moscow of the KHL in the 2004/05 season, according to their former partner Yakov Rylov.
Rylov gave an interview to Russian site sports.ru where he recollected some stories with Markov and Afinogenov. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of some parts of the interview.
"Once Max Afinogenov made a bad pass and [Dynamo's head coach] Krikunov exclaimed: "What are you, blind?". The following day the team gathered in a room for the game analysis. Max took a seat in the first row and put on strong glasses. You know, the ones that enlarge your eyes considerably. Krikunov came in and started laughing.
At one moment there were rumors that Mikhail Grabovskiy (now playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs) would get traded from Neftekhimik to Dynamo. First he was expected to come right at that moment, then he was expected to come after the season. So one day there was a practice and Markov and Afinogenov were skating in jerseys with Grabovskiy's surname on the back."
After a long injury, finally Montreal Canadiens' superstar Andrei Markov started eyeing his return on ice, even if it won't be that soon, probably not earlier than New Year's eve, "surely before the Olympics", using his own words.
Let's remember that the defenseman got injured on the season's opening night when he had a collision with team mate, goalie Corey Price and he got a teandon slashed by Price's skate. He needed a surgery and a long rehabilitation program, but now it looks like it's going to end rather soon.
Markov had an interview with Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette, Russian Hockey Fans offers you a resume:
I felt it in my ankle, I just bent over and saw the cut. At the time I wasn't thinking it was too bad. It's part of our game, it's bad luck. It wasn't (Price's) fault. Hopefully I'm going to be better than before.
It's still boring right now. It's not comfortable, but I'm happy to step on the ice. The hardest part (of rehab) is seeing your team on the ice and watching the game on TV. It's tough, mentally.
But I feel good. Everything's on schedule. We'll see what happens tomorrow and next week. Maybe it's going to be early, I don't know.
I don't want to look that far ahead, [towards the Olympics]. I'll do it step by step. First of all, I have to come back to our team and we'll see what happens.
