Kuznetsov lunges and scores! (Photo credit: YLE.fi)
In the first game of the Oddset Hockey Games tournament, the Russian National Team took on Finland outside at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium. Caps prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was sporting a maroon hoodie to cope with the 1-degree temperature at puck drop (minus-5 wind chill), centered Russia’s first line. Kuznetsov proved to be Russia’s best player notching a goal and an assist in Russia’s 2-0 win.
In the first period, Kuznetsov brought the puck into the offensive zone. After battling several players along the boards, he managed to shovel the puck to Nikolai Zherdev who then attempted a wraparound. Finnish goalie Ari Ahonen was able to make the initial save, but Stanislav Chistov was first to the rebound and batted it home. 1-0 Russia.
In the third, the 19-year-old Kuznetsov maneuvered around four defending Finnish players and sprung himself on a semi-breakaway. After dekeing, a lunging Kuznetsov slid the puck past Ahonen.
After the game, Kuznetsov explained his decision-making on that play to Soviet-Sport’s Pavel Lysenkov. “I just didn’t know who to pass to, so I had to beat them all.” Fair enough.
On Saturday, Russia will play their second game of the tournament in Stockholm against the Swedes. Puck drop is at 9:30am. Photos and video are below.
Video of Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Goal
Outdoor Game Photos
Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium
The public rink beside Olympic Stadium.
A view from Russia’s bench.
Above images via the Finland National Team’s website
Kuznetsov opted to wear a red hoodie under his jersey to stay warm.
Kuznetsov, who normally plays wing, takes a face-off and centers Russia’s first line.
During the game, one of the linesmen suffered a broken foot.
Here’s him being stretchered off.
Additional reporting by Ian Oland.
Russian Machine Never Breaks is not associated with the Washington Capitals; Monumental Sports, the NHL, or its properties. Not even a little bit.
All original content on russianmachineneverbreaks.com is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)– unless otherwise stated or superseded by another license. You are free to share, copy, and remix this content so long as it is attributed, done for noncommercial purposes, and done so under a license similar to this one.
Share On