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WJC: Gold Medal Game • Pre-Game Discussion

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Chimp said:
I'm just here for the expected ref entertainment. How many ridiculous calls will they find today?
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It's only excuse for your loss. You had only three shots in 3rd period when trailing and not much more penalties than Finland. Refs have blown games against Finland many times, it's unsportsmanlike to start haunting us. Blame the refs, write for IIHF page if you wish, don't try to spoil every game for us.
 
swetoxic said:
Russia wins this one. Russian is always a kryptonite to Finland.

But the ref will try as much as they can to give it to Finland.
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But Finland is also sometimes kryptonite to Russia. Still though, I think Russia is a more well-banaced unit, with all 4 lines being dangerous.
 
BlitzSnipe said:
The Finn defence might let them down in this one, it has been shaky. The Finns' 1st line is pretty deadly and no one denies that, but without proper defence, it's hard to win such matchups. We'll see, no one's counting Finland out, of course.
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Yeah, so far we have 1 game in this tournament when the back end has worked well. It's pretty much a coinflip at this point anyway - I'm just hoping for a good, clean, hard-fought game! Good luck to team Russia!
 
Sergei DRW said:
Russia has four scoring lines and they will not be denied. Even the bum like Svechnikov will eventually produce something! And he was considered the main Russia threat before the tournament.
I am wondering whether the Detroit Red Wings scouts are shaking their heads with disbelief?
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Nice to see fellow Ukrainian Russia fans :D. I'm actually from the Ukraine myself.
 
BlitzSnipe said:
But Finland is also sometimes kryptonite to Russia. Still though, I think Russia is a more well-banaced unit, with all 4 lines being dangerous.
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I really admire the discipline and the coolness under pressure of this Russian team. It's always super scary when Russia plays and defends as a team as they will anyway have the skill and the speed in the attacking end.
 
llwyd said:
Now, that's not very Swedish of you - do you have any Finnish blood by any chance? (We are the world champions in bitter griping...)
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It was pretty hilarious, the SF discussions were all Swedes and Finns 'cussing' at teach whereas Russians and Americans weren't that active :D.
 
llwyd said:
Swedes are usually much classier than Finns as they genuinely wish us well in sports if they themselves don't succeed - many, especially older, Finns still have that colonial little brother complex which is rather silly as it's literally ancient history. But I think these junior games are one exception: many Swedes are rather bitter for some reason and some really don't want Finland to do well, strange...
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Well i wish you guys to win the final! 4-2 Finland i will say:)
 
Considering Russia already beat Finland once in this tournament it's not difficult to say who has the advantage. Both teams are much weaker in their own zones so whoever manages to hold the puck more should be in good shape, assuming there's no easy goals and meltdowns like in the previous game.
 
Mara said:
Considering Russia already beat Finland once in this tournament it's not difficult to say who has the advantage. Both teams are much weaker in their own zones so whoever manages to hold the puck more should be in good shape, assuming there's no easy goals and meltdowns like in the previous game.
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Russia was crazy at scoring goals in that game, if they manage to finish with same outstanding quality yes they will win
 
swetoxic said:
Russia wins this one. Russian is always a kryptonite to Finland.

But the ref will try as much as they can to give it to Finland.
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You got the first part completely upside down! :laugh:
It's Finland that almost always beats Russia in the important games, especially if Russia is the favourite. :D

Usually i would say the 2nd part is the complete opposite too but in this tournament the questionable calls have been more to Finland's advantage than disadvantage...


But then again this tournament has been very unorthodox for us... Usually it's us that plays the boring turtle kind of d trying to shut-off the Superstars of the opposing teams. :amazed:
 
Look at the positives. Russia already has two big upsets this tournament of Finland and US. Canada went home without a medal. Sweden or US will not win a medal.

If Russia loses it will be losing to a highly touted team playing at home. Just like last year. So to me whatever happens its a successful tournament.
 
Rossiya said:
Look at the positives. Russia already has two big upsets this tournament of Finland and US. Canada went home without a medal. Sweden or US will not win a medal.

If Russia loses it will be losing to a highly touted team playing at home. Just like last year. So to me whatever happens its a successful tournament.
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Russian team and Finnish team are both already "on the clear" when it comes to expectations. Obviously both teams go in to these tournaments with the legitimate chance at winning gold. But neither of these teams were the front-runners in media before this tournament. During this tournee, Sweden, Canada and USA all were seen as having better chance to make it to the finals as Finns or Russians.

Obviously both teams are fighting for the gold and will be disappointed in losing tonight. But overall, both teams have already done very well.

If Finland wins, I'm happy as a little puppy. If not, at least no-one else was able to beat us than the championship team. In my eyes, we would then be legitimately #2 in this tournament. No questions asked. Went through Canada and Sweden to get to the finals.
 
In the group stage, Russia won the game because a) Vehviläinen was a bloody sieve, b) defense was disorganized and c) while the offense worked, Finnish players got lax and thought they had it in the bag when the game was 3-1 for them.

This time round... a) there's a better goalie than Vehviläinen in net, b) if the Sweden game is to go by, Finland has got its defensive plan in order and c) after the loss, there is little risk Finnish players underestimate Russia again.

That being said, I think Russia has come forward as a team too. They definitely have a chance to win this, no question. But most likely it won't happen by exploiting the same weaknesses Finland had during the group stage.
 
Some Finnish tv channels are re-scheduling their popular tv programs that would have been on the air same time with the final.
 
This is one of the few games ever that I'm sure Finland's going to win. That round robin melt down is just what makes think that. That's exactly the experience needed for a complete story.

We've seen it so many times. These tournaments are a growing process and I think the win tonight will just complete the circle. It's inevitable. The pen has nowhere to go but to meet the starting point of the circle. No unconnected dots left. Just connect the last one to the first one. It can't be missed.

While I see a lot of progress with the Russian team it's nothing compared to the steps the Finnish D have taken. I only know Finland was DOMINATING that round robin game before they started to play in their heads rather than on the ice.

I'm not saying it'll be easy but it's a blowout for sure.

GO FINLAND.
 
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