OffThePost.org

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/n ... cid=rsstsn

I think the Ruskies will be the team to beat in Vancouver. Some notable omissions include Frolov, Kovalev, Kulikov, Lisin, Filatov, Yashin, KHL leading scorer Max Sushinsky, Stan Chistov, Mozaykin, Sergei/Ilya Zubov, Zherdev and Perezhogin.

Kovalchuk-Malkin-Ovechkin
Semin-Datsyuk-Radulov
Afinogenov-Fedorov-Morozov
Kozlov-Zinovjev-Zaripov

Gonchar-Markov
Volchenkov-Tyutin
Grebeshkov-Kalinin
Korneev

Nabokov-Bryzgalov-Varlamov

_________________

solid front, great goaltending, defence is suspect. Will Gonchar even be healthy? Markov?

if they win, it'll be winning 6-4 games

_________________
"if your parachute doesn't open up while skydiving, don't worry, you have the rest of your life to figure it out"

That top line is beyond scary.

My guess based on the coach's comments in the past:

Semin - Fedorov - Ovechkin
Kovalchuk - Malkin - Afinogenov
Radulov - Datsyuk - Morozov

_________________
Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/n ... cid=rsstsn

I don't see what the big deal is. So they do a last-minute roster switch, I'm fairly certain the core of the team will remain.

If I had a wish that one of these players came back to the NHL, it'd be Aleksey Morozov. Fuck Radulov.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/n ... ml?cid=rss

This is awesome...

Alexei Morozov has been named the team captain and will be Russia's flagbearer in the opening ceremonies.

_________________
Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

So now that they've been bounced out, what is Team Russia to do?

New coach for sure and Don't add a few players due to some KHL content requirement in the selection process. Not saying such a requirement exist for real, but looks like it to me.

I guess they're going to have to re-build around Markov and Volchenkov on the back end, but who do they have coming up? The KHL-types seemed to shrink from the physical side of things and the smaller rink definitely helped the Canadians. I suppose they will make a coaching change, but given that the next Winter Olympics will be played on Euro-sized ice, the system probably won't change and in fact favor the trap-happy teams - good news for the Swedes, Finns and Swiss, I suppose...

Except it's because none of Malkin, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk or Semin did much of anything vs. Canada that they lost. Not because of Morozov, Zinoviev, and Zaripov.

Honestly, it's 4 years away. If anything, this loss will serve as a bitter reminder and they'll just be more motivated to win it all in Sochi.

On D, Grebeshkov will play a more significant role next time, and Kulikov will be on the team as well by then (you'd hope, at least). Maybe they'll pick Babchuk next time, too.

_________________
Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

And "New Coach" is always funny to hear after Russia loses... their coaching is generally awful, but it's not like they have better ones that they are ignoring... it's like saying change their entire culture of hockey in four years. Not. Going. To. Happen.

_________________
Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

Didn't Bykov have something like a 26-3 record before this, though?

_________________

Exactly. So why would he change now?

Russia wins on talent, not coaching. His teams generally pulled off miraculous comebacks to win, like the 2008 World Championship when out of nowhere, Kovalchuk scores his first 3 goals of the tourney in the 3rd and OT or whatever it was.

A lot of international squads have sub-par coaching when it comes to the professional level. Swedish fans think Gustafsson is terrible, too. Finland has always been the best coached non-North American squad.

_________________
Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

He was really slow to react to what Canada was doing and change match ups and open game that where killing them. On two of the first three goals there was a player blatantly coasting on the back check directly leading to the the clean looks, to me that is a coaching issue as well. Maybe no one could motivate these guys to not treat it like a pick up skate, but that is an unknown where as it is a known the guy they had did not do it.

Not to mention if he had paid attention to what his players did in the NHL he would have sent Datsyuk out there in the shootout re-do against Slovakia and not Ovechkin.

I think that's the unintended consequence and arrogance of having so much offensive talent on your squad that you don't think anything the other team does can possibly impede your team's objectives. If, on a team-wide basis, one assumes that the level of talent and skill is approximately even, then the differentiator between the two teams might be more subjective things like chemistry, desire, heart, effort and other BS that North American teams are known for... I also wonder if the Russians underestimated the quickness of the Canadian team on the smaller ice surface and losing the races to loose pucks seemed to prove that...

Excellent piece by Elliot Friedman on Russian Hockey:



I look forward to part 2

_________________
GO CANUCKS GO!

Great piece, worth seeing just for Alyonka Larionov.

_________________