Criticism of the attackers, reproaches to Bragin and praise to Bobrovsky: how was the departure of the Russian national team from the World Cup in hockey perceived

Lack of aggression

The defeat from Canada in the quarterfinals of the Ice Hockey World Championship came as a surprise to many, since the domestic squad was considered one of the main favorites of the tournament.

At the same time, in the confrontation with the "maple leaves", Valery Bragin's wards showed rather faded hockey.

Even the specialist himself admitted that his wards should have acted more aggressively at other people's gates. 

After the final siren, the Stanley Cup winner Valery Kamensky, in particular, drew attention to this, in whose opinion the domestic attackers should have created more dangerous moments.

“Canadians are not stronger than us.

Yes, they got the upper hand.

We shouldn't have conceded with such a line-up.

We lost to ourselves.

Nobody is happy with the result.

This first place in the group does not count, since everyone is looking only at the medals.

The Canadians barely made it to the playoffs, but they beat us.

If we acted as we did with the Swedes, we would have scored at least five goals.

But it turned out that we lost, first of all, to ourselves, ”Kamensky complained.

In his opinion, Sergey Bobrovsky earned praise in the national team.

The Florida goalkeeper played the first and last match in the tournament and made 22 saves. 

“He played great and made a lot of saves.

The first puck conceded is a pure defensive mistake.

After a throw from such a distance, it is impossible to react, "Kamensky added.

Former head coach of the Russian national team Vladimir Krikunov noted that Bragin's wards did not have enough luck.

According to him, the national team lost to the rival in the fight.

“One mistake made the difference.

For seven years we have not been able to win the gold championship of the planet.

During this time, they took both silver and bronze medals, but not gold ones.

This whole championship stands apart, and the results speak about it ... Preparation in a “bubble”, life in a “bubble”, when you are constantly in the same room without the ability to switch - all this affects, "- quotes the words of a TASS specialist

Lack of throws

As already mentioned, the Russian national team acted in a foreign zone quite without ideology, and most importantly, they rarely brought matters to shots at Darcy Kemper's goal.

The team literally tortured every moment.

Three-time world champion Vyacheslav Anisin harshly criticized the team for this.

“Why Canadians calmly go to play, but ours cannot?

Well, turn your ass and attack.

Bobrovsky is a poor fellow, he was shot from a meter, the second puck miraculously did not fly in regulation time.

Have you seen Vladimir Tarasenko speed up for the whole match?

A couple of times threw on goal and that's it.

There are no questions to Dmitry Orlov, it is immediately obvious that he is a master.

At our goal, no one could throw.

Sergei Mozyakin at the age of 40 throws harder than our strikers, ”Sport24 quotes Anisin.

The expert described a typical attack of Bragin's team in the following way: the entire squad turns around with a "fifth point" and holds the puck.

“The Canadians also looked so-so, but they sometimes tried to short-circuit the attack and score.

Our hockey players looked like whipping boys when the Canadians attacked three by three.

In a word, a shame, ”added Anisin.

Psychology

And psychologically, the Russians lost to their opponent.

Bragin's wards went out on the ice, feeling serious pressure, being the main favorite of the tournament, while no one expected anything from the opponent after the hardest group stage.

“They are especially dangerous when they are not considered favorites, it inspires them ... The Russian national team was seen as the main contender for victory and, in fact, had no right to defeat.

It seemed that this enslaved the team - it did not realize its potential.

Probably, now there will be a lot of criticism of the team, after all, the country's expectations were golden, and our team confidently took first place in its group.

Obviously, the fans should, as they say, let off some steam.

But experts need to calmly analyze this quarterfinals, "- quotes the famous coach Sergei Svetlov Russia-hockey.

Meanwhile, according to the bronze medalist of the Olympic Games Ilya Bryzgalov, the fact that Russia cannot beat Canada at the World Cup since 2011 indicates the superiority of the North American squad.

Trainer

Let the fans remember the performance of the Russian national team at the group stage of the championship of the planet with nostalgia, it also turned out to be very ambiguous.

In all matches, except for meetings with inferior Great Britain and Belarus, the domestic team experienced serious problems.

The gates of the modest Danes and Swiss were opened by Bragin's wards only at the end of the second period.

The victory over the Czechs was snatched only 19 seconds before the final siren thanks to the brilliant throw of Mikhail Grigorenko.

The Swedes were beaten in a shootout at the cost of incredible efforts.

And the main favorite of the World Cup lost to the Slovaks - 1: 3.

But the overall rather low level of participants allowed Russia to take first place in group A. It is very symptomatic that no one reached the semifinals from this octet as a result.

Slovakia conceded six goals from the USA.

The Czechs lost with the minimum score to Finland.

And Switzerland did not cope with Germany.

It is not surprising that some experts neatly hinted that reshuffles may occur at the headquarters of the Russian national team after a premature departure from the championship of the planet.

State Duma Deputy Dmitry Svishchev predicts "a serious showdown at the headquarters." 

“Canadians have been our eternal difficult rivals for many decades.

The problem is that everyone was betting on Russia.

They said: Canada had a bad start in the championship, barely made it to the playoffs ... But I just warned that you shouldn't think about it: there are no weak and strong opponents at the World Cup, but there are many factors that can affect the result ”, - quotes Svishchev "Championship".

And the world champion Maxim Sushinsky stressed that there is no point in dismissing Bragin, since a specialist "who has his own opinion" will not be appointed to the position of head coach of the national team anyway.

“I was sure that we would pass this Canada ... Of course, there were mistakes on the part of the coaching staff.

And those who do not always play with us were included in the roster, ”Sushinsky said.

Intercession

Nevertheless, indiscriminate criticism of the Russian national team for the premature departure from the tournament is definitely not worth it.

First, many favorites have failed in Latvia.

For the first time in history, the same Swedes did not leave the group, and the Canadians made it to the playoffs only from fourth place.

Secondly, this season has been largely crumpled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, hockey players who came to the championship of the planet from overseas had to serve quarantine, as a result of which the same Bobrovsky managed to play only one game.

“Well, what a shame is that?

Now is such a time, a pandemic ... Russia had a stronger roster: experienced guys, KHL stars, and the NHL team came.

Anything can happen.

This is definitely not a shame!

Now Russian leaders need to draw conclusions.

I thought Canada wouldn't even make the top four.

They started the tournament badly, there are no famous players there.

The defeat of Russia is a big surprise.

This is generally an enchanted world championship: they took away the primacy from Belarus and gave it to Latvia.

You know, it was necessary to hold the World Cup in Lithuania - then the Russian national team would have won for sure ", - quotes the words of the Olympic champion Darius Kasparaitis" Championship ".

In turn, world champion Andrei Nikolishin noted that the departure of the Russian national team from the tournament could be called a shame if it lost, for example, to Italy.

“It turned out to be a good game.

There was a tactical struggle on the ice.

The Canadians lined up traps and waited for their moment until overtime.

Russia's misfire is a demonstration of hockey at its best.

There was a tactical struggle in which the Canadians excelled more than we do, ”the Match TV expert quotes.

Thanks

Finally, there were also people who thanked the Russian national team for their performance at the World Championships in Latvia, despite the not very successful result.

The famous journalist Tina Kandelaki decided on this.

She stressed that domestic hockey players were initially at a disadvantage and were doomed to criticism.

“Even before the start of the match, it was clear that if we lost, many would say:“ We lost to the children. ” If we win, they will say: "Everyone can beat children." So give the result with such a degree of public opinion. And what about the Swedes? Are they tearing the hair on the head of their hockey players? And the Czechs? Tied up the whole team with sports? We are not too willing to say "thank you" to those who came and flew after a difficult season to defend the honor of our flag. But gratitude, like the players' desire to be a part of our team, is also patriotism, ”Kandelaki wrote on Telegram.