Translated material
Allergy to yellow
The Russians lost twice to the Swedes in the Eurotour finals
Under the leadership of Vyacheslav Bykov, the Russian national team played 16 matches this season (14 within the Eurotour and two control matches). Our hockey players suffered four defeats in these meetings, and all of them were defeated by the Swedish team, traditionally dressed in yellow. The last two failures came at the Eurotour finals, which took place at the end of last week. On the road in Gävle, Bykov’s team lost 2:3, and at home on the ice of the Sports Palace on Khodynka, the Russians were defeated with a score of 2:4.The previous mentor of our national squad, Vladimir Krikunov, was considered a specialist in Tre Krunur. Bykov’s relationship with the Scandinavians has not yet developed. The Swedes first ruined the December celebration of the opening of the new capital arena, winning in a goalless draw in regular and extra time in shootouts, then at the next stage of the Eurotour they defeated the Russians in Stockholm (6:2) and now they have deprived our team of the title of champion of the continental tournament of four teams, which she owned for two seasons.
However, a consolation for fans can be the fact that Bykov’s team in Gävle and Moscow did not yet play with their final lineup. The process of its formation takes place, as they say, non-stop. In parallel with the invitation of hockey players freed from club worries to the NHL, there is a screening of those representatives of the super league who are still objectively inferior in the competition for a place in the national team.
After the match in Gävle, Bykov thanked them for their teamwork and released the players who played in that meeting in the third and fourth five - defender Dmitry Vorobyov, forwards Stanislav Zhmakin (both Lada) and Grigory Shafigulin (Lokomotiv). By this time, hockey players from the teams participating in the super final series of the Russian championship had already arrived at the training camp in Novogorsk - representatives of the newly crowned champion, Magnitogorsk Metallurg, Alexey Kaigorodov, Nikolay Kulemin, Vitaly Atyushov and Ak Bars hockey players Alexey Morozov, Ilya Nikulin, Vitaly Proshkin, Sergei Zinoviev and goalkeeper Alexander Eremenko. Kazan Danis Zaripov joined the national team a day later, as he was recovering from a jaw injury.
NHL players Alexander Ovechkin, Andrei Markov and Alexander Frolov did not play in both matches with the Swedes, but most likely will have to perform at the “dress rehearsal” - Tuesday’s meeting with Austria, the last match before the start of the World Cup. Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar from Pittsburgh are expected to arrive in Moscow today. Atlanta forward Vyacheslav Kozlov, in a telephone conversation with Bykov, said that due to injuries he would not be able to take part in the championship. The head coach had to take a few days to think about the candidacy of Kozlov’s teammate Ilya Kovalchuk. And yet, a positive decision was made for the Atlanta striker. Tomorrow he and Alexander Radulov from Nashville will begin training as a team. However, this does not mean that, for example, Kovalchuk’s place in the lineup is one hundred percent guaranteed. Three more were released from the national team - Anton But (SKA), Anton Kuryanov (Avangard) and Evgeny Artyukhin (Lokomotiv).
As for the matches with the Swedes, in the first meeting both goals were scored by the top five - Yaroslavl Alexey Mikhnov, who opened the scoring, and Peter Schastlivy (Khimik), who served as captain, scored. The goal on the road and at home was defended by Vasily Koshechkin from Lada. At Khodynka, Sergei Mozyakin (Khimik) and Alexey Morozov scored for the Russians. The Swedes were leading 2:0, 3:1, and scored the last goal while playing outnumbered. The Scandinavians showed very organized hockey and acted without visible failures in defense, which cannot be said about our team, which made a number of serious mistakes. It is clear that with the advent of NHL players in the fighting force, our offensive line will noticeably strengthen. In defense, the goalkeeper problem remains acute. “Anaheim” of Ilya Bryzgalov and “San Jose” of Evgeniy Nabokov successfully passed the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and in the best case scenario, these players will be released literally on the eve of the World Cup playoffs.
Third place in the Eurotour went to the Czechs. In Helsinki they lost to the Finns - 0:1, on the Prague ice of Sikora this minimal deficit was eliminated, and in the fourth minute of overtime the victory was brought to the hosts by Glinka's goal. For three previous seasons, the Czechs finished the Eurotour in last place, so now they have taken, albeit a small, but still a step forward.