Russia vs Czech Republic. Who will be stronger in the fight for the first place in the group?
The final match in the group stage, Russian hockey players will play against the Czech Republic. The meeting against a principal rival from Eastern Europe will be held on February 12 in Beijing, on the ice of the State Sports Palace.
The Russian team is determined to defend the Olympic title obtained four years ago in Pyeongchang. All the prerequisites for this are in place. Once again there will be no NHL hockey players at the Olympics, which will markedly reduce the level of competition. In fact, the current Olympic ice hockey tournament is more like an expanded version of the European Tour with two North American teams and a second-tier team from Europe. Experience has shown that such teams can be beaten by Russia.
As for the roster, in contrast to the tournament four years ago, CSKA Moscow became the base club. The Moscow Army Men delegated to the national team seven hockey players, including Olympic champions Nikita Nesterov, Sergey Andronov and Mikhail Grigorenko. The 34-year-old Dynamo Moscow center-forward, Vadim Shipachev, who has been the highest-scoring hockey player in the KHL in goal+passes for multiple seasons, captained the team. Nikita Gusev, the hero of the final four years ago, is also in the line-up. The forward of SKA St. Petersburg in the "gold" final against Germany scored two goals, literally dragging the Russian national team to the victorious overtime. The lack of playing practice could be a problem for Russian hockey players. The KHL regular season was suspended a month ago, and the friendly against Latvia was called off because of a covid outbreak.
Czech Republic
The Czech team also has its own difficulties. Philip Pechan's wards only on February 3 had a full-fledged training session with the whole team in Beijing. The reason is banal - the coronavirus, due to dubious test results, the Czechs were forced to travel to China in several stages, so that the team will gain optimal shape already during the tournament.
Despite the fact that the Czech team is traditionally named among the main contenders for gold at every major tournament, the only victory at the Olympic Games dates back to 1998. In the final, the Czechs defeated the Russian team with a minimum score of 1-0, thanks in large part to the magnificent game of the legendary Dominik Hasek. After the golden generation of Hasek, Jagr, Ruzicka and other Czech hockey stars ended their careers in the national team, the Czechs did not have such successes. Four years ago, the Czechs finished only fourth, first losing in the semi-finals to Russia 0-3, and then in the bronze match against Canada 4-6. Now the Czechs are bringing to Beijing a rather elderly team, the average age of which is 30 years. The main star can be considered the 35-year-old striker David Kreychi, spent in the NHL more than a thousand matches and scored 257 goals in them. The results of the Czechs this season are not particularly impressive, at two stages of the Eurotour the team played 6 matches, losing in each of them.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Russia vs Czech Republic
RussiaThe Russian team is determined to defend the Olympic title obtained four years ago in Pyeongchang. All the prerequisites for this are in place. Once again there will be no NHL hockey players at the Olympics, which will markedly reduce the level of competition. In fact, the current Olympic ice hockey tournament is more like an expanded version of the European Tour with two North American teams and a second-tier team from Europe. Experience has shown that such teams can be beaten by Russia.
As for the roster, in contrast to the tournament four years ago, CSKA Moscow became the base club. The Moscow Army Men delegated to the national team seven hockey players, including Olympic champions Nikita Nesterov, Sergey Andronov and Mikhail Grigorenko. The 34-year-old Dynamo Moscow center-forward, Vadim Shipachev, who has been the highest-scoring hockey player in the KHL in goal+passes for multiple seasons, captained the team. Nikita Gusev, the hero of the final four years ago, is also in the line-up. The forward of SKA St. Petersburg in the "gold" final against Germany scored two goals, literally dragging the Russian national team to the victorious overtime. The lack of playing practice could be a problem for Russian hockey players. The KHL regular season was suspended a month ago, and the friendly against Latvia was called off because of a covid outbreak.
Czech Republic
The Czech team also has its own difficulties. Philip Pechan's wards only on February 3 had a full-fledged training session with the whole team in Beijing. The reason is banal - the coronavirus, due to dubious test results, the Czechs were forced to travel to China in several stages, so that the team will gain optimal shape already during the tournament.
Despite the fact that the Czech team is traditionally named among the main contenders for gold at every major tournament, the only victory at the Olympic Games dates back to 1998. In the final, the Czechs defeated the Russian team with a minimum score of 1-0, thanks in large part to the magnificent game of the legendary Dominik Hasek. After the golden generation of Hasek, Jagr, Ruzicka and other Czech hockey stars ended their careers in the national team, the Czechs did not have such successes. Four years ago, the Czechs finished only fourth, first losing in the semi-finals to Russia 0-3, and then in the bronze match against Canada 4-6. Now the Czechs are bringing to Beijing a rather elderly team, the average age of which is 30 years. The main star can be considered the 35-year-old striker David Kreychi, spent in the NHL more than a thousand matches and scored 257 goals in them. The results of the Czechs this season are not particularly impressive, at two stages of the Eurotour the team played 6 matches, losing in each of them.
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