Monday, January 6, 2014

Live Blog: WJC Bronze Medal Round, Russia v Canada

00:00 - Arbitrary Prediction: Russia 3 Canada 4

00:00 - Russia moves right to left, Andrei Vasilevski in net. Canada moves left to right, Zachary Fucale in net.

00:26 - Russia has had the puck twice, so far are struggling in transition through the neutral zone

01:20 - Canada employing speed early on as their weapon for possession, looking to see them utilise this for most of the game

02:01 - Scott Laughton breaks up an offencive try by Russia, just by not quitting on the backcheck

02:20 - Bo Horvat with a hook behind the net before a stuff attempt by Russia, Canada the first to see the box. They will have to be more disciplined if they are going to go home with some hardware

03:17 - Fucale stops a Mikhail Grigorenko attempt in close. So far seems confident

03:35 - Grigorenko looking for Pavel Buchnevich in the slot, puck goes off of Matt Dumba's skate right in front of the net and past Fucale. If Canada shows frustration early, they won't get back into this game

04:29 - Russia doing a great job of taking away the middle of the ice. Canada has some quick skaters and skilled stickhandlers but that won't matter if they can't get into legitimate scoring positions

05:12 - Fucale finally smothers a try by Ivan Barabashyov from the side of the net, Josh Anderson pins Vadim Khlopotov to the ice right in the crease. I would not assume these two teams like each other

07:03 - Canada seems a little timid. They had about 3 consecutive solid chances but there's a disconnect in puck support. Two players down low, two up at the point, one actually exits to the neutral zone just in case they lose it or need to come back to reset. I have not seen this configuration before

09:44 - Alexei Bereglazov going for a break off of a blocked shot, Dumba quickly squashes that

10:07 - Georgi Busarov all alone in front Fucale, Fucale stands tall to make the stop

11:22 - Derrick Pouliot is a big part of Canada's offence. They put up a flurry of shots in the zone and many of them originated from the centre point from Pouliot's stick

13:55 - Jonathan Drouin is good but he's hurting his team by doing too much. He seems to be making a lot of offensive zone turnovers because he holds on to the puck too long. Tampa Bay should be at least a little concerned

14:38 - Neutral zone turnover by Canada, Eduard Gimatov collects and rushes up. Uses Josh Morrissey as a screen and rips a wrister past Fucale

16:09 - Alexander Barabanov has a great rush up off of a defencive miscue by Dumba. Doesn't connect on the shot but boy was that close

17:10 - I would not have played a 2-on-1 like Pouliot did, personally, but great way to take away the pass and then the puck with a combination slide and stick-check

18:08 - Too many men on the ice by Russia. If Canada wants to get back in business they could absolutely use one here

18:53 - Decent puck movement by Canada but Russia is shutting off lanes to the middle of the ice again. They have only allowed 4 goals on the kill during the tournament and I'm guessing their efficient 1-2-1 formation has a lot to do with it

19:22 - Drouin across the slot to Mantha but stopped by Vasilevski. If Mantha managed to wire a one-timer instead of holding for a quick stick-handle this could have been a different game entering intermission

20:00 - Russia 2, Canada 0. Shots: Russia 14, Canada 13

20:00 - Russia moves left to right, Canada moves right to left

20:59 - Mantha a shot in close, Vasilevski won't let that one in

21:27 - Ilya Lyubushkin trips Curtis Lazar coming down on the boards, Canada back on the man-advantage

22:29 - Mantha and Pouliot really want those drives from the point but can't get the puck on net. Canada is having a lot of trouble getting tip plays to connect

23:24 - Sam Reinhart tries a quick shot from the slot but hits off Vyacheslav Osnovin. Canada is having trouble finding space for the puck to go through

23:45 - Griffin Reinhart goes off on a hold/interference call during a Russia drive to the net. Russia back on the Power Play

23:57 - Laughton gets a great shorthanded chance rushing up the wing but can't put it through

24:27 - Russia gets another Too many men call, negates the man-advantage. This might open things up for one of the teams

26:04 - Pouliot goes coast to coast, gets a solid drive off from the slot but just can't solve Vasilevski

26:39 - Aaron Ekblad gets called on a trip with Pavel Buchnevich driving in alone. Canada has the speed to generate shorthanded chances but something has to give if they keep making trips to the box

27:07 - Grigorenko comes in close and gets a quick shot off, Fucale is quick to react and squeezes on the save

27:37 - Alexander Barabanov tries a centreing feed with some room, gets quickly batted away by Canada

28:49 - Barabanov tries to toe-drag around two Canadian defenders, good thing he couldn't get a handle on it. Canada seems to be trying very hard to keep pucks from reaching Fucale. Is this a trust issue or are they being coached to be this aggressive on the backcheck?

29:18 - Ekblad pinching on a drive after Anderson controls from behind the net, Vasilevski gets a pad on it

30:13 - Another wide shot from in close by Dumba. Canada really needs to put these on the mark

31:32 - Ekblad off the pipe from the right faceoff circle. This is the closest they have gotten to beating Vasilevski

32:14 - Laughton a feed across the crease, Horvat can't get his stick on it. Canada keeps testing here

33:28 - Charles Hudon gets the gate for a cross-check along the boards on Anton Slepyshev. What did you think was going to happen?

33:46 - Canada is getting very aggressive on the forecheck with a man down. They are sending both of their forwards deep into Russia's zone for the press

34:55 - Two dangerous chances by Russia with the man up. Fucale comes through but these odd-man rushes can be killers

35:55 - Fucale manages to cover with a lot of traffic and scrambling right in the crease. Seriously, all 10 skaters are up in close to the net

36:07 - Mantha drives up the right wing with Hudon supporting at the far post. Not sure why these guys are going shot when they have numbers on Russia and could actually put Vasilevski in motion with more passing

37:51 - Ekblad walking in again but just can't put the one-timer on target

37:59 - Sam Reinhart to Griffin Reinhart driving in but can't get good wood on the one-timer. I would love to get my hands on the Corsi information for this game (and if I had capabilities to pause and rewind, I would do it myself)

39:35 - Huge miscue by Hudon and Dumba in the neutral zone gives Buchnevich a good chance with an odd-man rush before a trip by Pelech, the last man back. Canada is getting very risky with all these penalty calls

40:00 Russia 2, Canada 0. Shots: Russia 8 (22), Canada 7 (20)

40:00 Russia goes right to left, Canada goes left to right

40:27 - Grigorenko gets an early period scare for Canada, Fucale seems to be at least a little less confident about his tracking

41:12 - Lazar with a shot from far out. They had no traffic in front so a little removed from Canada's M.O., but they will probably need to get a little more creative than that to beat Vasilevski

42:31 - Bogdan Yakimov commits a hook on Drouin. Canada back on the Power Play, still with nothing to show for it

43:24 - Griffin Reinhart throws a point shot on net, Horvat can't convert on the rebound. Russia is working really hard to get bodies in front of pucks and have been immensely successful

46:22 - Puck bounces around in front of the Canada net, getting some air under it mind you. Not sure how, but Fucale bats it out of his business

47:10 - Josh Morrissey rushes into the slot and tips the puck in off a feed from Hudon along the wall. Hits off of Morrissey's foot but seems to be a legitimate tally. Canada draws within one

47:28 - Canada gets a quick drive after their score, Mantha rushing in close but can't put it on net. I know you don't make 100% of the shots you don't take but, statistically, the shots you take that miss don't count as shots. Just saying...

49:20 - I love how the Sweden fans boo Andrei Mironov whenever he touches the puck.For those unaware, Jesper Pettersson of the Swedish team is suspended for the Gold Medal game because of an altercation after the final whistle with Mironov yesterday

49:26 - Yet a third Too many men on the ice call from Russia. They seem to be a little excited coming off of the bench. This is absolutely a gift for Canada

49:54 - A shot and a scramble in front of the Russian net before Vasilevski turns it away. I don't know what he's on, but I'll take two

52:39 - Horvat to Griffin Reinhart alone on the side of the net. Great idea, the execution isn't there

53:06 - Wow, a blistering shot from Slepyshev at the faceoff circle, rebound bounces up into the air and almost trickles in past Fucale. Play continues on

55:24 - Vasilevski sees a Laughton shot the whole way through traffic. His vision and positioning is astounding and Tampa Bay should be proud for this one

56:55 - Icing call on Russia after Hudon tries a feed to Mantha rushing up the centre and it gets tipped upon entry

57:32 - Zhafyarov has two chances on the rush in Canada's zone. Not sure how many chances Fucale has had to stop back-to-back but he stands tall here

58:49 - Barabanov pulls a turn-around shot after almost Fucale almost chases an attempt to clear the slot. Good thing for the Canada team that Fucale has not yet been pulled

58:59 - Fucale is off the ice

59:31 - Buchnevich goes for an empty net attempt, bouncing puck misses just wide

60:00 - Russia holds on and wins their second consecutive Bronze. Canada goes home without a medal for the second consecutive year

60:00 - Russia 2, Canada 1. Shots: Russia 10 (32), Canada 11 (31)

60:00 - Andrei Vasilevski from Russia and Aaron Ekblad from Canada are awarded Player of the Game honours

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