Russian National Hockey Team News

Mar32010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

2010 Olympics: Team Russia aftermath

2010 Olympics: Team Russia aftermath (Photo © sovsport.ru) 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. Goalkeepers Ilya Bryzgalov: B+ He played a good game against Slovakia, but he got a L and thus he got benched in the following matches. He should have get more chances. Evgeny Nabokov: D In the first match against Latvia he didn't look too good, but it was an easy game. Against the Czechs he did his job, but in the quarterfinals he had just a terrible night. He should have been benched earlier. He ...

Feb252010 by Gary Laws18 Comments

Top 5 reasons why Russia failed at the Olympics

Russian National Hockey Team News

Top 5 reasons why Russia failed at the Olympics (Photo © Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) With the early quarterfinals exit, Team Russia set a new negative record as this was the worse Olympic outcome in their history. Since the first participation, 1956 Olympics in Cortina, Italy, Russia never had such a poor result. Team Russia's roster was, on paper, the tournament's finest, but they couldn't live up to the expectations, even in the round robin, which Bykov's team ended with two wins and one loss, which determined the pairing with Canada. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you top five reasons why Russia failed at 2010 Olympics. Reason 5: Underestimation of the opponents If someone remembers well, we used this reason also for the WJC failure article. While this was not the case in the quarterfin...

Feb252010 by Gary Laws3 Comments

Vyacheslav Bykov: “Yeah, let’s bring gibbets and kill Team Russia on the Red Square”

Russian National Hockey Team News

Vyacheslav Bykov: "Yeah, let's bring gibbets and kill Team Russia on the Red Square" (Photo © sportbox.ru) Team Russia coach, Vyacheslav Bykov, gave an interview to Sovetskiy Sport where he talked about the quarterfinal game between Russia and Canada. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation. Bykov: "I would like to congratulate Canada with this victory. Unfortunately, the Olympic Games are over for us. I would like apologize to our fans. Today we faced a very strong team. We couldn't get out of their pressure since the very beginning. It was really hard. We tried different variants to change the game and move it to the opponent's zone, but we failed. Canada demonstrated very interesting hockey. It was a pleasure to watch them, and I can't say the same about our team." - Maybe the re...

Feb242010 by Gary Laws6 Comments

Canada defeats Russia 7-3

Russian National Hockey Team News

Canada defeats Russia 7-3 (Photo © Alex Livesey/Getty Images) Team Russia lost 7-3 to Team Canada in the 2010 Olympic Tournament's quarterfinal. A goal by Ryan Getzlaf gave the Canadians an early lead. Team Russia didn't use a powerplay chance and Dan Boyle made it a 2-0 game at the twelfth. Rick Nash scored the 3-0 goal some seconds later with a quick counterattack. But the Russians didn't give up and with a blue line shot by Dmitriy Kalinin cut down Canada's lead after fourteen minutes. After a good scoring chance wasted by Ilya Kovalchuk, Brendan Morrow restore Team Canada's three-goal lead with less than two minutes to go in the first period. In the second period Canada scored two quick goals with Corey Perry and Shea Weber, and Bykov decided to bench Nabokov in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov...

Feb232010 by Gary Laws1 Comment

Vladislav Tretiak: “Nabokov will start in the quarterfinal”

Russian National Hockey Team News

Vladislav Tretiak: "Nabokov will start in the quarterfinal" (Photo © Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) Team Russia's general manager at the Olympic Games, Vladislav Tretiak, gave an interview to Vitaliy Slavin of SovSport. Tretiak talked about the canceled practice on Monday, seriousness of Sergei Zinoviev's injury and the players' thoughts on a possible Russia-Canada quarterfinal. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation. - Why did you cancel a practice on Monday? Tretiak: "The coaches decided to give the players time to recover. The ice practice was optional and nobody wanted to skate. Everyone went to the gym and rode bikes. By the way, we are not the only team to cancel a practice. The Americans and Swedes also did it." - But Team Canada practiced. And what an intense practic...

Feb222010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Ovechkin, Gonchar, Kovalchuk, Volchenkov talk about Czech Republic, hit on Jagr

Russian National Hockey Team News

Ovechkin, Gonchar, Kovalchuk, Volchenkov talk about Czech Republic, hit on Jagr (Photo © Alex Livesey/Getty Images) After the 4-2 victory against Czech Republic many players agreed that the Ovechkin hit on Jagr turned the momentum in Russia's favor. Team Russia players felt that this was the key event of the game and it helped their team getting the edge over Czech Republic. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of short quotes taken right after the game from Sergei Gonchar, Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeny Nabokov, Alexander Ovechkin and Anton Volchenkov. "Ovechkin has a very good physical play, that's why he always tries to pressure the opponents", Sergei Gonchar told Sport-Express. "Successful actions are always reflected to the team's morale. This was the case of today's game. I think t...

Feb212010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Alexander Ovechkin: “Jagr made a move to my side and I just hit him”

Russian National Hockey Team News

Alexander Ovechkin: "Jagr made a move to my side and I just hit him" (Photo © Gene J. Puskar, AP) Team Russia forward Alexander Ovechkin commented on his hit on Jaromir Jagr of the Czech Republic in a game between Russia and Czech Republic at the Olympic Games 2010 in Vancouver. "I see him coming and my first reaction was to play the puck," Ovechkin said to NHL.com . "He made a move to my side and I just hit him." Alexander Ovechkin switched the moment in favor of Russia with a bone crushing, open ice hit on Jaromir Jagr in the first few minutes of the final stanza. The puck then ended up on Alexander Semin's stick, who served Evgeni Malkin with a great cross ice pass. Malkin one-timed the puck in for the game winning goal in Russia's 4-2 win over Czech Republic. Ovechkin told Ru...

Feb212010 by Gary Laws12 Comments

Russia defeats Czech Republic 4-2

Russian National Hockey Team News

Russia defeats Czech Republic 4-2 (Photo © REUTERS/ Scott Audette) In the round robin's last game Team Russia defeated Team Czech Republic 4-2 and got a bye to the quarterfinals as they finished the Group B on the top of the standings with seven points against Czech Republic's six, Slovakia's five and Latvia's zero. Team Russia's first game of the medal round is scheduled for wednesday. During the first period of the game the teams are still 0-0. Alexander Ovechkin had a couple of good chances, but Tomas Vokoun saved both attempts. Later on the Russians wasted a powerplay opportunity. At the fifteenth minute Evgeni Malkin scored the 1-0 goal for Russia tapping in a rebound after a shot from the point by Sergei Gonchar. At the end of the first period the Czechs tied it up with Tomas Plekane...

Feb212010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

2010 Olympics: Russia – Czech Republic preview

Russian National Hockey Team News

2010 Olympics: Russia - Czech Republic preview (Photo © Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Team Russia's opponent in the third round robin match of the 2010 Olympic Tournament will be team Czech Republic. The Czechs, lead by the evergreen Jaromir Jagr, feature a very good lineup with plenty of NHL caliber players. Russia has to skate past Czech Republic in order to secure the first seed in the Group B and get a bye into the quarterfinals. The Czechs are on the top of the standings with six points in two games. The Slovaks follow with five points, but they played three games. Team Russia will try hard to put the 1-2 defeat against Slovakia in the past. "It's always tough to lose, but it's good to have it happen now in the tournament," Alexander Ovechkin told espn.com. Most likely team Russia's lin...

Feb202010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Olympics: Ilya Kovalchuk: “At the Olympics you should shove your ‘I’ up a certain place”

Russian National Hockey Team News

Ilya Kovalchuk: "At the Olympics you should shove your 'I' up a certain place" (Photo © Bruce Bennet/Getty Images) Ilya Kovalchuk talked about the bad powerplay of team Russia in the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament, the changes that the team will undergo for the next game against Czech Republic and his ice time in an interview to the Russian newspaper Sovietskiy Sport. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation. - The coaches created "the great line", made up of Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Semin, Malkin, Gonchar. But it didn't work out well. Why this line failed in playing simple hockey? Kovalchuk: "It's not enough to create 'the great line', you have to work on the ice. We try hard to improve the powerplay during the practices. We get so many penalties in our favor, they must be used better."...