MOSCOW – Throughout the season, Russian hockey has been debating whether the NHL lock-out represents a boon or a drawback for the European game. Over the weekend, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s Red Machine answered that question with a set of performances which suggest that working with a full-strength national team roster is taking the current World Champion to a higher level than ever.

Scroll down for scores from the December international break.

Sweeping aside all comers in the Moscow leg of the Eurotour, Russia fired in 14 goals in three games, conceding just twice as home fans were treated to the rare sight of NHL aces Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Ovechkin, Yevgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk donning the nation’s colours on home ice.

Christmas came early as a result – after a slow start, Sweden was crushed 5-1, then Datsyuk’s hat-trick inspired a 6-0 drubbing of the Czechs before a perfect weekend was rounded out with a 3-1 victory over Finland.

Strikingly, though, these impressive victories came not through overwhelming dominance all over the ice – by contrast Russia was outshot in every game it played. The difference was clinical finishing, and a string of forwards capable of conjuring a goal out of nothing.

Take Ovechkin – a player who has faced criticism in the past for failing to deliver on the international stage – and his magnificent solo effort against the Swedes. Take Datsyuk, and a clinical display in front of goal to put the Czechs to flight.

Take the goals against Finland, where Ari Ahonen was deked, duped and left grasping at thin air as Malkin, Kovalchuk and Vadim Shipachyov – an emerging talent from Severstal Cherepovets invited to join his more celebrated colleagues after an injury to Alexander Radulov – created the gaps into which they fired home. At any level of sport, class tells, and Russia’s attack was oozing with it in this tournament.

At the other end of the ice, watchful defence was key, straight out of Bilyaletdinov’s belief that the team which makes fewest unnecessary errors usually wins. Both goals against came when Russia was short-handed – at other times the defence was able to shield its goal and protect the netminder from the kind of exposure being unleashed on his opposite numbers. Small wonder, then, goalie Konstantin Barulin described that class of 2012 as “The Perfect Team” after the tournament.

The nature of Russia’s triumph here carried echoes of its World Championship dominance back in May – a flawless record, exciting individual performances, a potent threat from all four lines and a growing sense of invulnerability around the team. Small wonder, then, that it left Russian Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretiak purring about the prospects of beating all comers by the time Sochi comes around in little over a year.

Bilyaletdinov, meanwhile, shied away from comparisons with great teams of the past but agreed that the men on the ice in Moscow were close to his planned Olympic line-up.

“There’s no reason why we can’t beat a full-strength line-up from Canada, the USA or Sweden,” he said after the tournament. “Maybe we will add another player closer to Sochi, but I like the way the team is set up at the moment.”

But he also warned that the opposition will get tougher in the future: “The Swedes can select three full teams of stars – they have 63 players in the NHL. I’m out of NHL players after just two lines!”

At the same time, Russia’s rivals were left to reflect on their potential reinforcements. While the hosts filled up a star-studded roster with a view to thrilling the capacity crowds in Moscow (42,000 tickets were sold over the three days), the other nations drew on a wider range of players.

If Russia was represented by an NHL squad, the others drew more on their domestic leagues and the KHL, which has so far attracted few Trans-Atlantic refugees who don’t have Russian roots.

Sweden, for example, made little use of those 63 players mentioned by Bilyaletdinov, with only Nicklas Bäckström – currently playing for Dynamo Moscow – featuring in the Eurotour. Head coach Pär Mårts was clear that things would be different in Sochi: “It’ll be a practically new team at the Olympics. “The only thing may be that Nicklas Bäckström gets into that team. But you can’t name anyone else from this team yet.”

As for the rest of Europe, there is some relief. According to Tretiak, the Red Machine won’t be taking its biggest stars to the next stages of Eurotour in Sweden.

“The final decision rests with the coaches, but I’m sure we’ll take a different roster to the next round,” he told reporters after the game against Finland. “We need to check out our younger players. And also don’t forget that we have some other NHL players, such as Alexander Syomin. The door is open for any player who can force his way into the team.”

Ominously, though, Bilyaletdinov explained that he already had a Plan B in place for the rest of the season and the World Championship, ensuring Russia remains competitive even if the lock-out ends and the big names head back across the ocean.

“I’ll work with a team from the KHL and try to help the younger lads reach a new level,” he said. “In the Eurotour, the game is already faster, more aggressive. That’s what we saw with [Lokomotiv’s Sergei] Plotnikov, and he played well in his first appearance for the team. Also, [SKA’s Maxim] Chudinov took a step forward compared with his performances in the Karjala Cup. We spoke with him, and he started making better decisions, acting faster.”

One year after a disappointing third place in coach Bill’s first tournament on home ice that prompted the traditional media inquest, any hint of blame has been replaced with fame for a team which is starting to give fans real reasons to believe that the long wait for Olympic gold might be coming to an end.

Another sacking

Away from the national team, Russian fans were left surprised by the news that CSKA had sacked head coach Valeri Bragin after 33 games in charge. Bragin’s dismissal had echoes of Milos Riha’s departure from SKA St. Petersburg last month – the team had won 23 of those 33 games, and was handily placed among the Western Conference leaders, looking capable of a serious tilt at play-off glory in due course.

While Bragin and many of his senior players admitted the news came as a shock, reports in Russia suggest that experienced Canadian Andy Murray is in line to swap Western Michigan for Moscow. Vyacheslav Butsayev takes the reins as caretaker for Thursday’s home game against Ak Bars Kazan; Bragin is expected to be offered an alternative role within the club.

ANDY POTTS
 

Original Article 1st Published at  http://www.iihf.com