WCOH Game 2: North America vs Russia
7 years ago
In a short tournament like the World Cup of Hockey, stamina is a major X-factor. Your legs need to be moving during the game, and from game to game, and any hesitance will burn you. For team North America and Team Russia, they’ll have their gas tanks put to the test tonight, as they each play their second game in as many days in hopes of grabbing some much-needed points in their group. Here’s what’s going down:
- Once again, the kids will get the primetime slot; puck drop is at 8:00 local time (EST), 7:00 CST, 6:00 MST, 5:00 PST.
- You can catch the action on Sportsnet, ESPN2, TVA Sports, or on your streaming service of choice.
- You can follow along with the action across the various Nation Network social media platforms, and spin back here for the postgame recap shortly afterwards!
Lineup Notes
Team North America
Auston Matthews – Connor McDavid – Mark Scheifele
Jonathan Drouin – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Nathan MacKinnon
Johnny Gaudreau – Jack Eichel – Dylan Larkin
Vincent Trochek – Sean Couturier – Brandon Saad
Morgan Rielly – Aaron Ekblad
Shayne Gostisbehere – Colton Parayko
Ryan Murray – Seth Jones
Jonathan Gibson is expected to start in goal, with Matt Murray backing him up.
Team Russia
Nikita Kucherov – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Alexander Ovechkin
Vladimir Tarasenko – Evgeni Malkin – Pavel Datsyuk
Evgeni Dadonov – Vadim Shipachyov – Artemi Panarin
Vladislav Namestnikov – Artem Anisimov – Ivan Telegin
Dmitry Orlov – Nikita Zaitsev
Alexei Emelin – Andrei Markov
Dmitry Kulikov – Alexey Marchenko
Semyon Varlamov is expected to start in goal, with Sergei Bobrovsky backing him up. Both lineups are subject to change.
3 Things You Need To Know
- The North Americans recognize that Russia’s style of play is going to be a challenge for them. “The Russians are a bit of a different team,” said captain Connor McDavid to reporters after last night’s game. “They play a north-south game, and they’re so skilled, so it’s going to be a good test for us defensively”
- Alexander Ovechkin is going to come out hard. He’s presumably still hungry after having a buzzer-beating equalizer waved off against Sweden yesterday, and he’s the one player on Russia’s roster who can skate at North America’s speed while being punishing on the forecheck. The kids will have to remain vigilant at all times when they’re on the ice.
- Each team has the benefit of the unknown up their sleeve. North America’s first line dazzled last night led but Connor McDavid, of just 45 NHL games experience, and Auston Matthews, who hasn’t even made his debut. On the other side, the Russian third line of Dadonov, Shipachyov, and Panarin was a trio that made a mockery of the KHL two seasons ago for SKA St Petersburg and even with Panarin’s year away in Chicago, still have a boatload of chemistry.
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