Russia vs USSR

[sr edler]

Who's coaching Russia?

Who needs a coach when you have such great players?!

 

[Sentinel]

I would have double Vezina Bobrovsky instead of Khabibulin.

And I would take the Cup-winning Khabibulin over never-out-of-the-first-round Bob. Bulin was the only reason Russia beat Czechia in the 02 Quarterfinals. Bobrovsky has NEVER shown he can perform in big game situations. Plus, I've never seen ANY forward make ANY goalie his bitch the way TJ Oshie made Bob in Sochi.

 

[Dingo]

And I would take the Cup-winning Khabibulin over never-out-of-the-first-round Bob. Bulin was the only reason Russia beat Czechia in the 02 Quarterfinals. Bobrovsky has NEVER shown he can perform in big game situations. Plus, I've never seen ANY forward make ANY goalie his ***** the way TJ Oshie made Bob in Sochi.

The Bhulin Wall was good, too. I think Bob is quietly making a mark for himself, and he still has some time to build on that.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

The Bhulin Wall was good, too. I think Bob is quietly making a mark for himself, and he still has some time to build on that.

I was a big fan of the Wall.

 

[Sentinel]

I OTOH hand was never a big fan of Habibulin. To me, he was always too much of a primadonna. But his ability to perform when it matters is the best of all post-Soviet goalies.

 

[streitz]

Never noticed how many Russians were on those USSR teams...

 

[Pominville Knows]

If Russia can't get Konstantinov i think they could play Gusarov somewhere.
Russia's defense aint bad as it stands though, especially if they can get Konstantinov.

 

[MaxV]

Yushkevich has a case for team Russia also. One of the best stay-at-home Ds in the world during his peak. Unfortunately, with his playing style, his peak didn’t last long.

 

[BenchBrawl]

The USSR defense is too good for Russia to win with their subpar blueline.

 

[VMBM]

The USSR. Only because they never self-destructed. Yes they lost in the Miracle On Ice, but other than that they always played up to their potential. "Russia" since the 1990s hasn't. They always have the skill but they never play as a team to win. I suspect this would be the case again.

Yeah, "always". They suffered even worse a loss at the 1976 World Championship when they lost to Poland 4-6 (plus lost to Sweden and tied & lost to Czechoslovakia). At least USA was/is a real hockey playing country and the 1980 team had some talent and speed, whereas Poland...
In my opinion, the 1970s Team USSR did underachieve occasionally; on paper, they always had the best team, but Czechoslovakia still won 3 world championships in the 1970s and sometimes got the better of USSR even when they didn't win the world championship (1971).

But carry on, you're not wrong on the whole.