WJC Game Day Preview: Canada vs Russia
4 years ago
If I could sum up Team Canada’s Boxing Day victory over the United States in one line it would be this: welcome to the Alexis Lafreniere show.
The projected first overall pick for the upcoming NHL Draft put forth an absolutely dominant performance, lifting Canada to a 6-4 victory. His three assists were all impressive for different reasons but his goal at the 16:49 mark of the third period was a truly jaw-dropping moment.
The USA had just scored two goals in a four-minute span to tie the game at four and for a brief moment, it appeared the Americans had completely taken over the game. The moment was very brief as just seven seconds after Shane Pinto tied the game, Alexis Lafreniere restored Canada’s lead by knocking a d-to-d pass out of the air and sliding the puck past Team USA goaltender Spencer Knight with a quick forehand-backhand move.
Oilers prospect Raphael Lavoie really stood out on Thursday morning as well. He picked up an assist on the team’s first goal of the tournament and ended the game with a pair of shots on goal in just over 12 minutes of ice time. He was rather impressive considering he played less than a quarter of the game.
One other quick Oilers note: I like what I saw from Philip Broberg in Swedens opening win as well. Both Oilers prospects got off on the right foot at this year’s tournament. Also, another fellow Oilers prospect, Matej Blumel, scored a huge goal for the Czech Republic in their 4-3 win over Russia.
For Canada, the attention now shifts to a matchup against Team Russia, who has already been put on their heels after opening this year’s event with a loss to the host Czech Republic.
The plan is for Dale Hunter to roll with the same lineup he did on Boxing Day and that makes sense. Despite the fact that Canada trailed 2-0 at one point and briefly blew a two-goal lead, I thought that they were the better team on Thursday.
They’ll need a similar effort this morning against the Russians.
THE OPPOSITION
“They’re big, they’re skilled, and they’re pissed,” is how TSN’s Mark Masters summed up the Russians heading into today’s matchup. I couldn’t agree more.
Just looking at this group on paper, you can see why some viewed them as favourites to capture gold this year. Up front, they have Canucks first-round pick Vasili Podkolzin and Panthers prospect Grigori Denisenko (who led last year’s tournament in scoring. On the back end, they’re led by Canadiens prospect Alex Romanov.
Like the Americans, they might not be as deep as Canada, but their high-end skill can win them games.
Between the pipes, they were hoping to be led by projected first-round pick Yaroslav Askarov, but he was not very good in their opening loss to the Czechs, allowing four goals on 17 shots. It’ll be interesting to see if they ride it out with Askarov or if they will go with the more experienced Daniil Isayev.
Canada managed to get five past Spencer Knight, who is probably the most talented goaltender in this tournament, so it really shouldn’t matter who’s between the pipes. Canada is good enough to beat anyone.
Russia let some poor discipline really sink them in their opening game and now find themselves on the verge of potentially having to play Sweden in the quarterfinals. Tonight is very close to a must-win game for the.
KEYS TO VICTORY
- DISCIPLINE: Canada gave the USA five opportunities with the man advantage and allowed three goals against. Not only does their penalty kill need to be better, but they need to do a better job of staying out of the box, especially in crucial situations. It seemed as though they had the game against the USA wrapped up until they got into penalty trouble in the third period. It didn’t cost them on Thursday, but they can’t afford to make it a habit as we head deeper into the tournament.
- SKATE, SKATE, & CYCLE: Russia’s blueline is not very deep whereas Canada has a very deep and skilled group of forwards. If they keep their feet moving in the offensive zone and start hemming the Russians in their own end, they’ll start to draw penalties. It’s inevitable. The Russians gave the Czech Republic seven powerplay’s in their opening game. That should be an area that Canada can take advantage of. Canada’s powerplay also proved it’s good enough to win them games. They scored three PPG’s in their first game after just scoring three in all of last year’s tournament. Skate hard, work the cycle, and let your powerplay sink the Russians.
- KEEP THE BIG GUNS ROLLING: Canada’s three returning forwards were all tremendous in their tournament opener. Lafreniere stood out, but, so did Barret Hayton (two goals) and Joe Velena (two assists). That trio was outstanding in every area of the game. I really like Canada’s depth, but they also have some outstanding players in their top six and they shone against Team USA. They’ll need that again this morning against a Russian team that will be very desperate.
It’s rare that Canada starts the tournament with games against their two biggest international rivals, but I like it. It gets them playing intense, playoff-style hockey right off the bat. That’s crucial in a short tournament.
While the Russians hardly looked like gold medal favourites in their game against the Czechs, the red and white can’t afford to take them lightly. This morning’s game is still a massive test for this group.
Puck drop goes just after 11 am on TSN1. Canada’s next game will be on December 30th against Team Germany.
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