[the flying moose]

Jeez if Canada and Russia don't step it up they will be playing the bronze medal game.

 

[Yzerfan]

I think it's kind of ironic that Demitra's move on the shootout goal was a lot like the Datsyuk changeup against Niemi in that one Red Wings-Blackhawks shootout. Ironic because now Datsyuk's move was used to cap off an upset of his team.

 

[FX™]

Jeez if Canada and Russia don't step it up they will be playing the bronze medal game.

As I said in a different thread, I think they are both in cruise-control right now, and will up the game later on in the Olympics.

 

[SabresFan101]

Ha, I read this post and had to look up the results because I sure didn't believe it when I read it. Crazy.

Not really much of an upset. Slovakia has a pretty solid team.

 

[Badat]

Not really much of an upset. Slovakia has a pretty solid team.

Not that solid lol.

 

[FX™]

Not really much of an upset. Slovakia has a pretty solid team.

Solid team or not, Russia are supposed to be Gold Medal contenders this year. You don't do that by losing to Slovakia.

 

[charlio lemieux]

Definitely a failure in coaching.

I heard that the coach's response when asked why he put OVy out three times was "He wanted to go." SO is Ovechkin running this team or what?

Why the hell are you giving Ovechkin multiple opportunities when you have Malkin sitting on the bench?

I think that if Ovy doesn't become less selfish the big Red Machine is going to crash and burn.

IF the coaching staff lets this turn into the Ovechkin Show, regardless of him being the best in the world or not, the team is going to have issues.

 

[Where's Bure?]

I missed the end of the Russia/Slovakia game. They sent Ovi THREE times? After three, can you just send the same guy over and over or in sets of three?

And why in the world would you send Ovechkin more than once when you're a team that boasts Datsyuk?

 

[the flying moose]

That why teams like Slovakia and Sweden do well. Their teams aren't made up of superstars and they are able to put any ego's aside and do what's best for the team.

 

[charlio lemieux]

That why teams like Slovakia and Sweden do well. Their teams aren't made up of superstars and they are able to put any ego's aside and do what's best for the team.

For Russia's sake I hope Fedorov has a talk with him. He is the only one with the resume to even approach Ovy about how he plays the game. It will only make him a better player in the NHL aswell.

Does he have issues? Remember Kovalchuk had to smooth things out with Malkin at the All-star game last year.

The guy obviously loves the limelight, and he deserves every minute of it he gets. But if he has problems sharing it, then he needs to work on it.

 

[VICE™]

I heard that the coach's response when asked why he put OVy out three times was "He wanted to go." SO is Ovechkin running this team or what?

Like other Russian coaches, Bykov's not a good coach when it comes to superstar players, he just gives them what they want. He ignored Radulov, who is one of the best in one-on-one situations on Bykov's own KHL team, and the KHL as a whole.

Why the hell are you giving Ovechkin multiple opportunities when you have Malkin sitting on the bench?

Malkin was feeling ill and didn't want to participate in the shootout at all. He was sitting still, resting his head on the board before his attempt and left the bench and went to the room after his first attempt.

I think that if Ovy doesn't become less selfish the big Red Machine is going to crash and burn.

Ovechkin was one of the few Russian players who actually left it all on the ice in that game. Ovechkin wasn't the main problem in the loss, I've never seen him put so much effort into penalty killing situations before.

If he was being selfish on the bench for the shootout, then the coaching staff needed to put someone else out there. It's pretty simple. The shootout loss goes to the coaches, not to Ovechkin.

I'm sure he could handle a no, but someone there has to give him the no.

If you really want to get a good sense for how the Russian coaching is iffy at best, the Russians are split into three groups for practice. These groups are coached by Datsyuk, Fedorov and Markov, while the actual coaches put together the powerplay.

IF the coaching staff lets this turn into the Ovechkin Show, regardless of him being the best in the world or not, the team is going to have issues.

And this is why I voted coaching the most important aspect of a tournament like this. You have to be able to motivate and order your players around. While I'm not sold on Ovechkin being the biggest problem with the Russian team, you're not going to be able to motivate them or get them to implement a system if they won't listen to you at all.

I missed the end of the Russia/Slovakia game. They sent Ovi THREE times? After three, can you just send the same guy over and over or in sets of three?

Yes, you can send them as many times as you want after three.

And why in the world would you send Ovechkin more than once when you're a team that boasts Datsyuk?

Bykov's not a good "superstar" coach, he never has been. Most modern Russian coaches have a terrible track record of coaching such players (like the Plyushchev/Filatov situation at the World Juniors). They listen to these players and do whatever they say.

Datsyuk also didn't look good in his first shootout attempt whatsoever. I wouldn't have played him right away after either, especially since there's a bench full of other wizards with the puck, like Radulov.

For Russia's sake I hope Fedorov has a talk with him. He is the only one with the resume to even approach Ovy about how he plays the game. It will only make him a better player in the NHL aswell.

Ovechkin is in Datsyuk's practice group and is actually attentive and runs the drills the way Datsyuk designs them. If you would have watched Ovechkin kill a penalty in that game, you would have noticed some little things that I'm sure Datsyuk pointed out to him.

Does he have issues? Remember Kovalchuk had to smooth things out with Malkin at the All-star game last year.

Issues with what? Other players on the team? I haven't heard anything of the sort.

The guy obviously loves the limelight, and he deserves every minute of it he gets. But if he has problems sharing it, then he needs to work on it.

The coaches need to actually tell him no, before you can claim that he has an issue sharing the spotlight. Bykov will go to the star players and ask them what to do, and since Ovechkin is the best pure scorer in the game, then why wouldn't he say "put me in" when the game is on the line?

 

[charlio lemieux]

It is a big problem with the coaching if that how they are doing things.

My biggest problem would be if the statement about Ovechkin asking to go back out and the coach letting is 100% true. With guys like Datsyuk, Fedorov, Radulov, Semin, Kovalchuk, Afinogenov and Malkin sitting on the bench it just isn't right that a player requests not only a second but a third try in the first 5 or 6 opportunities.

Sure Crosby went twice but he is 1st in the NHL in SO% for any player taking more than 5 SO attempts. HE has 6 goals in 8 tries.

Ovechkin is 1 for 6 in SO.

Who knows? Maybe their coaching method will work in the end.

 

[VICE™]

Well, the quote doesn't say that Ovechkin requested to go out again. Bykov doesn't speak English, so it's entirely possible that he didn't understand or know how to answer the question, or his response was just translated incorrectly. Ovechkin "wanting to go" could be Bykov asking him if he thought he could score and Ovechkin replying "yes."

For the most part, in international competition, the teams do repeat the same player multiple times. Had Russia won the game, there wouldn't be any questioning Ovechkin shooting three times.

 

[SabresFan101]

That why teams like Slovakia and Sweden do well. Their teams aren't made up of superstars and they are able to put any ego's aside and do what's best for the team.

You say Slovakia not a good team? Their roster I think in my opinion is pretty good. On the other hand Sweden, is a good team too.

 

[the flying moose]

You say Slovakia not a good team? Their roster I think in my opinion is pretty good. On the other hand Sweden, is a good team too.

No, I am not saying they are not good. I am saying they are not stacked with high end talent like Canada or Russia and don't have the ego's that go along with it.

 

[Where's Bure?]

Datsyuk also didn't look good in his first shootout attempt whatsoever. I wouldn't have played him right away after either, especially since there's a bench full of other wizards with the puck, like Radulov.

Does it change in the later rounds? I remember seeing Czech and Canada going to a 5 person shootout back in the day...

 

[charlio lemieux]

Well, the quote doesn't say that Ovechkin requested to go out again. Bykov doesn't speak English, so it's entirely possible that he didn't understand or know how to answer the question, or his response was just translated incorrectly. Ovechkin "wanting to go" could be Bykov asking him if he thought he could score and Ovechkin replying "yes."

For the most part, in international competition, the teams do repeat the same player multiple times. Had Russia won the game, there wouldn't be any questioning Ovechkin shooting three times.

It is quite possible that it is simply a translation error, but it is still a strange decision.

I have no problem with guys getting multiple chances in the SO, but sending out the same guy three times while leaving the players on the bench that the Russians did just seems odd. What makes it stranger is that the SO is one of Ovechkin's weakest areas.

After watching Radulov put the puck on a string a few times in that game I can't fathom why he wasn't the #4 shooter.

 

[VICE™]

Does it change in the later rounds? I remember seeing Czech and Canada going to a 5 person shootout back in the day...

I believe they changed the shootout rules either for, or just before Torino to go with three shooters instead of five. Since the Olympics use IIHF rules, it doesn't change in later rounds, Toews' legendary shootout performance at the World Juniors is an example of this. It was either the Torino Olympics or the 2006 World Juniors that debuted the rule changes, but I can't remember which at this time.

Whatever time they changed them, there were three major changes to the IIHF shootout rules:

• The ice would be dry-scraped without water preparation
• The first three shots have to be taken by different players, but they don't have to be nominated beforehand, unlike the NHL. Under IIHF rules, the coach can actually change the shooting players during the shootout.
• If it progresses past three shots, the coach can use the same player to take as many "sudden death" shots as they want. The players still don't have to be nominated.

The IIHF did do a five player shootout prior to the change though, so you're right about seeing it back in the day.

It is quite possible that it is simply a translation error, but it is still a strange decision.

I have no problem with guys getting multiple chances in the SO, but sending out the same guy three times while leaving the players on the bench that the Russians did just seems odd. What makes it stranger is that the SO is one of Ovechkin's weakest areas.

After watching Radulov put the puck on a string a few times in that game I can't fathom why he wasn't the #4 shooter.

I agree it was a strange decision, but the quote given has to be read into to actually come up with an assumption of what happened.

Radulov and Bykov, as I mentioned, are both part of the same KHL organization. I've heard rumors of them having problems with each other over there, so if true, then that could have come into play when Bykov was deciding who to have shoot.

Given Bykov's history at the last three World Championships, he usually picks one player that will be repeated in shootouts and rarely run down the bench. Sometimes it works, other times, it doesn't. Ovechkin going three times isn't a departure from his 'coaching philosophy'.

 

[Where's Bure?]

I'm not a fan of the new shooutout system...

 

[VICE™]

I'm not a fan of the new shooutout system...

Makes sense. People either like it (mostly because of Toews' shootout performance), or they don't. I'm one of the few who don't really care.