Ilya Kovalchuk Sparkled for Russia

Ilya Kovalchuk Sparkled for Russia; Andy Greene did not for USA - Summary of Devils at 2010 World Championships
John Fischer In Lou We Trust May 23, 2010

Kovalchuk shouldn't feel too bad about his own performance. While the IIHF directorate named his teammate Datsyuk the best forward of the tournament and the media snubbed him for their all-stars, Kovalchuk led the World Championships in points with 2 goals and 10 assists along with 15 shots and an average ice time of 16:52. So much for Kovalchuk being a selfish player. The coaches named him Russia's best forward. He certainly made his mark. All stats are viewable at the IIHF's statistics page which has all this information in PDFs for some inexplicable reason.

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Ilya Kovalchuk Assists Twice In 5-0 Win Over Finland, Getting Ready For Canada

Russian power play
Beats Finland, wins group, gets ready for Canada.

Russia rolled over Finland, 5-0, getting goals by five different players and a shutout by Semyon Varlamov. Ilya Kovalchuk got two assists and Maxim Afinogenov a goal and an assist.

"With the new rules it is all about special teams and I think our penalty killing was great and the power play worked tonight. It is important for the quarterfinal," Kovalchuk said.

The last time Russia left a World Championship rink as a loser was in Moscow in 2007 when they lost to the Finns 2-1 in overtime. Since then, the team has raked in 23 wins. Before their game against Finland. Now the win count is 24.

Finland started the game strong, they came out of the gate like they meant business. And they did. Finland pressured the Russian defencemen, and created several good scoring chances. Unfortunately for the Finns, when it was time to put the puck to the back of the net, they hit the post instead. Four times.

"They played very well in the beginning," Kovalchuk admitted.

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Russian streak continues at Worlds: Kovalchuk tied for team lead with five points in five games

Ilya Kovalchuk's line with Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin has Russia on a roll at the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany.

Led by Datsyuk's hat trick, the trio collected 10 points in Sunday's 6-1 win over Denmark. Kovalchuk, the Russian captain, tallied three assists and is tied with Alex Ovechkin for the team points lead with two goals and three assists in five games.

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Volchenkov talks terror

I am waiting for Volchenkov to finish. He is standing facing a posse of reporters in a corridor at Scotiabank Place answering questions to do with The Second World — sports, in this case, hockey — but I want to talk to him about the moment this week he suffered a rare and serious jolt into The First World, the everyday, more important one beyond all he’s known for most of his 28 years.

The reporters are finished with Anton Volchenkov, the worst friend an airborne chunk of rubber ever had, and after introducing myself, he seems relieved when I tell him I don’t care to hear his millionth media seminar on blocking shots, or to winkle out the mystery of his “upper body” injury — “I want to talk to you, Anton, about the tragic terrorist subway suicide bombings in Moscow, your hometown, and how you were affected by them.”

Thirty-nine subway riders killed, 70 injured, the separatist Chechen rebels claiming responsibility, promising more of the same, and Anton Volchenkov, who is more than just jock sweat, shakes his head in a slow, deliberate, grim-faced manner that reflects the reality...


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Classic Video: Video of Alex Radulov Scoring The Winning Goal At the 2009 IHWC

Thanks to ago KimmoKuopio at Break.com for posting this classic video of Alex Radulov scoring the game winning goal at the 2009 Ice Hockey World Championship final (5/10/2009) between Russia and Canada. To see the Alex win the game in dramatic fashion, please visit this link.

Prospect Sergei Shirokov Talks About His Decision To Choose The NHL

This summer former CSKA Moscow KHL winger Sergei Shirokov had the chance to land a lucrative contract in Russia, but decided to pursue his dream of playing in the NHL. Currently the top scorer for the Manitoba Moose, the AHL affliate of the Vancouver Canucks, the transition to North America has raised interest by many in the hockey community. To learn more about Sergei's decision to play in the NHL, please visit this link.