First five
Markov - Potter, Frolov - Malkin - Kovalchuk
We have been waiting and still expect much more from this link. Just not the fact that Bykov will retain faith in such a combination and will not make changes to the next match. And this is very likely, because already at the end of the game with the Finns, Ovechkin came out instead of Kovalchuk. Occasionally, something happened when one of the attackers dawned on a sharp pass. In the majority they scored after the already familiar combination with the connection of the right defender - this time Gonchar took this position. But the rest invariably fell on individual actions.
Second five
Emelin - Kondratiev, Kulemin - Nepryaev - Ovechkin
For this five, the match was divided into two parts. The first was held confidently. And the account was opened, and generally played inventively and aggressively. Unlike the first link, they did not go too far with solo passages, but tried to look for partners and found interesting options in the attack. Indicative in this sense was an episode with a goal. Nepryaev in the center sharply changed direction, when he saw that Kulemin and Ovechkin were changing flanks and Alexander freed up space for his partner. Immediately followed by a pass to the left, a throw from under the defender and a goal. The fact that Norren did not help out in this episode is a problem exclusively for the Finnish team.
And the second part for this five began with the removal of Ruutu and the resulting five-minute majority. Ovechkin took the position of defender, and the other four sat on the bench for this segment. After that, they could not find the previous game. After Ovechkin’s transfer to the first link at the end of the game, there is no longer any certainty that we will see such a combination in the next match. And probably a pity - it definitely added with every game.
Third five
Proshkin - Nikulin, Morozov - Zinoviev - Zaripov
There are no words. Whether Danes, Ukrainians, Finns. The first link is left or the third. The result of the Russian team so far depends entirely on this five. And it’s positive precisely because Zinoviev’s companions in every game were in perfect order. The Finns circled almost as convincingly as the Ukrainians disparate in class. They killed such handsome men - it’s a pleasure to watch. Yes, and did not score - it's a pity, but it happens - no worse. Now it is very important to keep courage until the most important matches.
Fourth five
Atyushov - Grebeshkov, Radulov - Happy - Kharitonov
We played well on defense. Diligently, neatly. As before, Radulov played somewhat separately from his partners. He fought very well at the sides, dragging the puck, but nothing more. Nevertheless, there were moments for a goal, and a goal was scored. In the majority, when this five got a chance thanks to the rudeness of Yarkko Ruut, they got into the zone and rolled out pretty well. And before that, in the minority, Happy jumped out one-on-one with Norrena, but the goalkeeper coped with his throw. The captain corrected already in the third period. Very on time - the Finns just narrowed the gap to a minimum.
Goalkeeper
Vasily Koshechkin
Fine. Four missed goals - of course, a bit much, but this is more a coincidence. Koshechkin’s personal fault can be found in them only if you really search. In general, he played confidently, did not twitch, did not unnerve the defenders (rather, they really were him). He didn’t make especially memorable saves, but he took everything calmly.
Special brigades
Even if future rivals can close the five of Zinoviev in equal compositions, in the majority it should remain a formidable weapon of our team. The Finns, as it turned out, are not an insurmountable obstacle for this combination. There is reason to hope that others will not. The Malkin link in the majority is still unconvincing. Only one combination passes, and with fixing in the opponent's zone, obvious problems. And the link of the Happy with the defender Ovechkin played too little to draw any conclusions.
In the minority, everything came out again. But the pair of Emelin-Kondratiev defenders too clearly lost a patch. Therefore, it is possible that further Bykov will reduce the minority brigades to at least three.
Summary
Good game. Very informative. Of the positive aspects, I want to note the good team movement and the competent divorce of Finnish forwards on the sides. But all this is only until the third period. After the second break, the speed was clearly slowed down, they began to periodically not keep up with the opponent, which led to fuss. In fairness, we note that they continued to fight in defense honestly, but they themselves led to such a need. Thanks to the Finns for the lesson. Our hockey players received direct evidence that in the playoffs you need to maintain speed and concentration until the siren, whenever it sounded.