Why did the Russians never pull their goalie?

[Big Phil]

You know its weird no one ever mentions this but if you look at some great all time games where the Soviets lose you'll notice they never pulled their goalie with a minute left. They left him in there! Whether it was Tretiak, Myshkin, or Mylnikov.

In Game 8 of '72 Tretiak was not pulled, even if it was just with 34 seconds left wouldnt it have been better to pull him? Then in 1980 Tikhonov didnt pull Myshkin in the Miracle on Ice game vs. USA. In '81 they won, then in '84 they lost in OT, then in '87 after Lemieux's goal in Game 3 they dont pull Mylnikov. The Soviets didnt really press Canada after that 1:26 remaining (Canada even had a two on one after the Lemieux goal which Messier missed the net) but they were in their end.

Does anyone know why the Russians never did that back then? Was it like a face off where they never really practised it or was it because they werent used to losing to teams? I cant figure it out

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[Ogopogo*]

You know its weird no one ever mentions this but if you look at some great all time games where the Soviets lose you'll notice they never pulled their goalie with a minute left. They left him in there! Whether it was Tretiak, Myshkin, or Mylnikov.

In Game 8 of '72 Tretiak was not pulled, even if it was just with 34 seconds left wouldnt it have been better to pull him? Then in 1980 Tikhonov didnt pull Myshkin in the Miracle on Ice game vs. USA. In '81 they won, then in '84 they lost in OT, then in '87 after Lemieux's goal in Game 3 they dont pull Mylnikov. The Soviets didnt really press Canada after that 1:26 remaining (Canada even had a two on one after the Lemieux goal which Messier missed the net) but they were in their end.

Does anyone know why the Russians never did that back then? Was it like a face off where they never really practised it or was it because they werent used to losing to teams? I cant figure it out

I think it was a pride issue. They realized that it was such a low % play and the odds of losing by two was very high. I think they wanted to avoid the embarrassment of a two goal loss.

Just my theory.

 

[Cloned]

I think it was a pride issue. They realized that it was such a low % play and the odds of losing by two was very high. I think they wanted to avoid the embarrassment of a two goal loss.

Just my theory.

And a very good theory too, IMO.

I would imagine Soviet pride was a pretty big issue, and losing by one probably looks better to a sports official bureaucrat than losing by two.

 

[Nazzy-19]

And a very good theory too, IMO.

I would imagine Soviet pride was a pretty big issue, and losing by one probably looks better to a sports official bureaucrat than losing by two.

Also in international tournaments such as the olympics and world championships goal differential played a part tie breaking.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Does anyone know why the Russians never did that back then? Was it like a face off where they never really practised it or was it because they werent used to losing to teams? I cant figure it out

They didn't practice it ... IMO it was an arrogance thing, they weren't used to losing.

 

[Chili]

I remember reading that the Soviets were going to claim that they had won the series if game 8 had stayed tied because of the better goals for/against they accumulated in the series. So goal differential was definitely at least part of their consideration.

 

[ClassicHockey]

The Russians pulled their goalies going back to at least 1960. It wasn't a foreign thing to them. If you watch the Russia-USA Olympic game in 1960, you will see the Russians pull their goalie. The only difference is that instead of the Russian goalie going to the bench, he merely parked himself on the sideboards around the face-off circle.

The Russians didn't pull their goalie a lot simply because its not a high percentage play. It backfires more often than not.

Tretiak didn't leave the ice for a 6th attacker in Game 8 because the Russians hardly had possession of the puck for a long enough time. And the Russians style is puck control.

Yes, the Russians said they would declare themselves victors by having scored more goals in the series if the series was tied. While that fired up the Canadian team, there was no basis for the Russians to unilaterally declare that. It was just another hollow threat and gamemanship.

By the way, I saw some editing of Episode 7 of the CBC series. There is just some phenomenal footage from the games in Russia that has never been aired. For example, Sinden is captured from behind the Canadian bench talking to his players. You will see that behind the bench, there is a 4 foot drop to the floor. Its a wonder that Sinden didn't trip and disappear from view a few times.

I remember reading that the Soviets were going to claim that they had won the series if game 8 had stayed tied because of the better goals for/against they accumulated in the series. So goal differential was definitely at least part of their consideration.

 

[David Puddy]

During the ABC broadcast of the USA-USSR medal round game at the 1980 Olympics, Ken Dryden said, "The Soviets are going to be put in a very unusual position at this moment of having to pull their goalie. The Soviet team has rarely been in the position of being down a goal this late in the game, and I wonder whether they've had much practice of Myshkin or Tretiak off the ice."

Also, Sergei Starikov is quoted as saying in Wayne Coffey's book The Boys of Winter, "We never did six-on-five. We never had that situation in practice. Tikhonov just didn't believe in it."

 

[salzy]

The Russians never pulled their goalie because their mothers told them they'd go blind.