GDT: Russia - USA 8:38PM ET

[MOGiLNY]

Semis baby! No words need to be said!

ROSSIYA ROSSIYA ROSSIYA ROSSIYA ROSSIYA

Click to read more...

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

k

i'm just happy that U.S.A is in it or else the stupid ESPN would not even show this game :lol . funny how i wanted Sweden to win...but i'm still happy cause U.S.A will show the game now...

anyway, this will be a GREAT game no doubt. I see both teams playing well and the game being rather close. Although I want Russia to win, I have a sinking feeling the Russian defense will just not be good enough...


U.S.A wins 4 - 3

 

[The Old Master]

i'm just happy that U.S.A is in it or else the stupid ESPN would not even show this game :lol . funny how i wanted Sweden to win...but i'm still happy cause U.S.A will show the game now...

anyway, this will be a GREAT game no doubt. I see both teams playing well and the game being rather close. Although I want Russia to win, I have a sinking feeling the Russian defense will just not be good enough...


U.S.A wins 4 - 3

depends on wich usa team shows up! the 5-4 team or the1-6 team.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

i'd say the 5-4 team will show up. I think many teams in those tournament go through ups and downs in the prelims. But when you get to the quarterfinals and on...the top teams realize what is at stake and come up with their best game. So i think the U.S.A team we saw today is the real U.S.A team. They still are not good enough to beat Canada, but they seem to be good enough to beat Russia

 

[MOGiLNY]

well the US is definitely on the up side now.. they had a huge win against the Swedes, Montoya played solid, so the confidence is finally back..

but on the other side, tomorrow will be US' 3rd game in 4 nights, so we will have to see if fatigue is a factor

 

[Alex Kovalev]

I say 5-3 Russia.

Malkin (2), Radulov, Rylov, Lisin

Kessel, O'Sullivan, Goligoski

 

[Jacques Plante]

USA-Russia games are always good games. I'll be watching

Hopefully the 'good' USA team and Montoya show up. I don't want to watch a Russian blowout.

Kessel, Fritche, Ovechkin and Malkin all in one game. Which of these players will come up big?

It should be fun!

 

[Zoo]

6 - 4 Russia

Ovechkin and Malkin are gonna come out fired up man. This is gonna be a great game.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

I would say KESSEL is the X-FACTOR. he is EXTREMELY talented. if the Russians dont pay enough attention to him...he can get another hat trick

 

[Berkut]

I don't think people here give much credit to Russia...

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

I don't think people here give much credit to Russia...

its the OPPOSITE...some people here give Russia too much credit, mainly the people who are big fans of Russia. I am honestly a huge fan of Russia and i want them to win. However, I am also REALISTIC about their team. they have maybe two of the best forwards in the tournament in OVECHKIN and MALKIN...but what else do they have???? NOT MUCH. their goalie is VERY average, sometimes below average. whats worse is their DEFENSE, or the lack of it. sometimes their defense looks like that of a high school team...

 

[MOGiLNY]

yeah, I'm not too optimistic about this game neither..

anyways, since the damn TSN isn't showing this game till monday, where can i listen to the game?

 

[DevilFisch]

Well, USA won with Montoya doing his best impression of a sieve. Now that it seems Montoya is playing more like a good goaltender would, I think the USA team will win 3-1. Malkin and Ovechkin will be contained.

I don't think it's a good idea for either team to rely on their defenses for this game.

 

[Lessy]

It really depends on which USA and which Al Montoya shows up. If the States play well, they can win, no doubt. There defense will have to be sharp and Montoya will have to bail them out at times. This could go either way.

4-3 Russia, in the end the States D can't handle the shifty Russian forwards.

Malkin, Ovechkin (2), Voloshenko

Kessel, Stafford, Suter

 

[Slick Nick]

I have a bad feeling about this game... I doubt about Khudobin...

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

both teams seem to be at the top of their games right now. should be an awesome game. can't wait

 

[Rabid Ranger]

well the US is definitely on the up side now.. they had a huge win against the Swedes, Montoya played solid, so the confidence is finally back..

but on the other side, tomorrow will be US' 3rd game in 4 nights, so we will have to see if fatigue is a factor

That's a fair point, although Coach Sandelin used his entire bench tonight, meaning that while fatigue might still be a factor, it probably won't be as much a factor if a short bench was being used. I noticed a few players like Hensick didn't get a ton of ice time, so that could help. Also, these are young kids, so their bounce back ability is much better than older, veteran players.

 

[Reilly311]

Also, these are young kids, so their bounce back ability is much better than older, veteran players.

Exactly. These kids will be ready for this game. In fact, it could be even better that they played awesome the day before to keep the momentum going. Russia might be rusty after a day off.

 

[MOGiLNY]

Yeah, the US kids definitely have the momentum going with them as well as some adrenaline (sp?) from the big win..

But on the psychological side of the game, Russia isn't really behind the US.. 3 game winning streak, scored 17 goals in those 3 games, let in just 4, so it's not like the Russians are going into this game feeling down on themselves.. I doubt 2 days of rest is going to make them rusty too.. If it was 5 days of rest, you'd have a point though..

The real edge the US has is Montoya over Khudobin, and possibly shaky Russian defense.. These are the things that I'm really worried about, not players being rusty..

 

[cagney]

When they first played I left the game thinking that they matched up well and any meetings they had further on in the tournament could go either way. Since then Russia has been consistently good while the US has been schizophrenic. If the US comes to play, the game could go either way. However, I think it's quite possible that the US could come out flat and get pummelled.

 

[Berkut]

When they first played I left the game thinking that they matched up well and any meetings they had further on in the tournament could go either way. Since then Russia has been consistently good while the US has been schizophrenic. If the US comes to play, the game could go either way. However, I think it's quite possible that the US could come out flat and get pummelled.

Let's hope you're right!

 

[Makarov]

The Americans are sooooo UNPREDICTABLE, its really tough to tell what team will show up today...

I do feel that both teams will play a better game than their first of the tourney, when goaltending and the entire blueline appeared to be MIA...

For the Russian to win, they will have to take Kessel out of the equation...

Play the BODY, and stop chasing the puck; Kessel may be quick but that inside-outside move is getting OLD, someone plaster him already...

By the by, doesn't Kessel remind you of a young Paul Kariya when he played for Canada in the Juniors...

 

[Berkut]

We didn't see much Kessel in the first 4 games...In my opinion he got a lucky run this time. It happends even to not so good players.

 

[MOGiLNY]

the moves Kessel's been pulling off.. that's not luck

 

[Winston Wolf]

We didn't see much Kessel in the first 4 games...In my opinion he got a lucky run this time. It happends even to not so good players.

Kessel's been a consensus top 5 pick for his draft year for a while now. It's definitely not luck.