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Russia Preparing for Rivalry Match vs Canada |
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Crosby VS Malkin
Canada VS Russia
Paul Henderson 1972
The rivalry will forever exist when it comes to Russia versus Canada!
Obviously today’s final exhibition game will not be nearly as exciting or meaningful as the battles that have taken place between these two countries over the years.
But, nevertheless, it will be a fast paced and hard hitting offensive game between two teams loaded up with talent. By talent, I literally mean the world’s best, and from both sides.
Crosby and Malkin are two of the best players in the National Hockey League, and they are both coming off a Stanley Cup victory, only to play versus each other in tonight’s exhibition game. We’ve seen it before, and I have no doubts we will see it again, but I always love watching some of the best battle it out for their respected countries.
Canada played against Russia in the 2010 Olympics; it was a slaughtering 7-3 for Canada in the quarterfinals. Russia really had no chance, Canada was a dominant force. Then Russia hosted the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Unfortunately for the Russian team, they were eliminated in the quarter finals by Finland and Canada went on to win yet another gold medal.
Russia will still have their work cut out for them as they play Canada today. But at the end of the day, its exhibition and will prepare Russia for the upcoming elimination tournament games.
Today’s games will be held at the CONSOL Energy Centre in Pittsburgh where the Penguins play. This will be the first game of the tournament on smaller ice, giving Canada another advantage as they are all NHL players and are used to playing on the smaller ice. Russia has a few KHL players, but are mostly NHL players, so it shouldn’t be too big of an adjustment.
It’s important for Russia to get off to a decent start in this game, showing some intensity and speed. Staying out of the penalty box will be a key to success for both teams, as they are both loaded up heavily with high end talent.
It should be a fun game to watch tonight, so be sure to tune in for the 7:30 EST start time.
Thanks for reading.
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