Russia dreams of ruining Canada’s World Cup party

TORONTO – Evgeny Kuznetsov was 15 years old. On his television were his hockey heroes from the Russian national team, in the gold medal match of the 2008 IIHF world championships in Quebec City.

He still replays the goal in his mind: Ilya Kovalchuk juggling the puck over the blue line, seeing two Canadian defenders slide to the ice and pumping a shot through goalie Cam Ward just 2:42 into overtime for a power-play goal – thanks, Rick Nash delay of game penalty.

He remembers seeing Russian players like Alex Ovechkin and Andrei Markov mobbing Kovalchuk near the boards in celebration, Russia having accomplished something few teams can claim in recent memory: Beating Canada, in Canada, in an elimination game and with a championship on the line.

And he remembers almost crying.

Eight years later, Kuznetsov is a teammate of both Ovechkin and Markov. And Russia has, again, the opportunity to defeat Canada in Canada, earning the chance to face the hosts of the World Cup of Hockey in the semifinals on Saturday night after Russia’s 3-0 win over Finland to close group play (and eliminate Team North America).

“It’s a dream game,” said Kuznetsov, who led the Washington Capitals in points last season. “Most guys don’t get a chance to play against Canada. The whole world knows that the best players play here. They’re always the favorite in every tournament.”

Ovechkin won his second of four career gold medals in his career in that game back in 2008. His first gold was in 2003, when he helped Russia win world junior goal in the final against Canada in Halifax. He had another shot at the Canadians in the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. Russia was blown out in the quarterfinals, 7-3.

He’s also never won a championship in the NHL, while his life-rival Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins has two, defeating Ovechkin’s Capitals en route to both. He also has two Olympic gold medals, while Ovechkin hasn’t medaled.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before.

“It’s Canada vs. Russia. It isn’t two players,” said Ovechkin, as he does when the Crosby vs. Ovechkin rivalry is broached. “Of course you guys want to do something special about it, but for us, I think it’s most important thing to get a victory and move forward.”

While SID VS. OVIE is played out – the principles, the media and the majority of fans – it’s impossible not to consider this moment for Ovechkin, within the context of the Russian team. A victory over what has been a Canadian juggernaut would be an upset, and would throttle the World Cup’s presumptive finale: Canada vs. Sweden in a best-of-three death match.

A victory for Ovechkin wouldn’t balance the scales or offer redemption for past vanquishing at Canadian hands, but would offer some brief satisfaction and bragging rights.

“It’s going to be a fun game. It’s nice to be a part of obviously,” he said. “Two teams with a great history. Again, it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be hard because we play here in Canada. But it’s going to be fun, fun game.”

Can the Russians win? Yes, for two reasons: Their offensive weaponry, which is lethal enough where they won’t roll over and assume defeat if they get down by two goals like the Americans did; and Sergei Bobrovsky, who has legitimately had a strong tournament and, if locked in, could more than make up for a questionable blueline in front of him.

“We knew he was a good goalie before this tournament, so we trust Sergei,” said forward Vladimir Tarasenko.

But he can’t do it alone.

“We have to help him obviously. Nobody can win game by himself,” said Ovechkin. “Obviously they have the skill guys up front. But for us, we play against those guys most of the time in the NHL. We knew what they can do. We knew how they gonna play. We knew personality, what skill they have.”

Russia’s pretty skilled too. This should be fun. Especially for players that have dreamed of a chance to eliminate Canada in Canada since they were kids.

“We have to accept the challenge,” said Kuznetsov. “Show those guys what we got.”

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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