General impressions from game 1:
Canada was the better team and deserved the win, despite a slow start.
None of the goals were really 'good' goals, with the possible exception of Turris' penalty shot. Varlamov might want to think about paying closer attention to the five-hole, where three of the goals were scored. After the second goal, I thought to myself that Mason might not be seeing much action after this game, but he was quite strong in the second and third.
Canada was sloppy defensively, which was surprising given who the coach is. That sloppiness was a big reason for all the penalties. Between their running around and their giveaways, they probably shortened Sutter's life by about three years.
Russia's play was, overall, kinda disappointing. Except in spurts, they seemed to rely on a lot of one-man rushes. For a team that had played two full games before today, their team play was sadly lacking. They played physical at times, but once Canada started to respond, they seemed to back off on that aspect as well.
The officiating wasn't bad. Some of the calls were questionable to be sure, as were some non-calls. Based on Hockey Canada's criteria, I wouldn't have called the penalty shot; one of the five criteria is that a reasonable scoring chance was denied, but Turris still got a shot off, however weak. (Note that that's Hockey Canada's criteria; it's a reasonable assumption that the IIHF criteria are different.) Regardless, the officiating isn't an excuse.
For the next game:
Canada had better figure out the way the game is being called. A dozen power play chances against, including multiple 5-3s, is not acceptable. They also need to have better goaltending for all 60 minutes. Mason was good in the last 50, but a 10-minute lapse is not acceptable at this level. And they need to be sharper, especially with the puck, in their own end.
Russia needs to start playing as a unit. They have good puck skills, but trying to go one against five is almost always going to end up the same way. They need to capitalize on their chances. And yes, they also need better goaltending.
Russia needs three wins on home ice if they're going to win this series, because once the series shifts to the smaller ice surfaces over here, the advantage swings heavily to Canada.
One last thing: someone needs to figure out how to fix the ice in that rink. You could tell, five minutes in, that the ice was horrible.
