The Melted War: Why Russia Can’t Win Gold

Image Courtesy of Espn.go.com

The United States' "controversial" victory of Russia's Olympic team last Saturday brought back memories of 1980 and the rivalry that existed between both countries both on and off the ice.

By now, everybody knows the story of 1980 and the sports heroes that became of the United States men's Olympic team. Everybody also now knows TJ Oshie's name because of his shootout heroics versus Russia.

Russia has the stars to compete against the world's best. With players like Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and Sergei Bobrovsky, to name a few, Russia can match up with any country offensively and in goal. And with the bigger ice surface in the Olympics, the Russian's should be almost unstoppable offensively. But they are not.

With Finland elimating Russia 3-1 in yesterday's quarterfinal matchup, Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and company were limited to just 12 goals in five games. Nine of those goals came in two games. Against two of the stronger defensive teams in the tournament (United States and Finland), the Russians were held to three goals, and were shut out by Slovakia.

What is wrong with the Russian system? Maybe it's that the Russians have not altered their game too much since the NHL allowed professionals to play in the Olympics.

Once NHL players began playing in the Olympics, teams needed to adopt a new game plan. The Russian game plan has not adapted to the rest of the world. While many teams play the "boring" game of dump-and-chase, Russia continues to play an individual game and attempt to carry the puck across the blue line. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not, and more often than not, a strong defensive team will limit the chances of a team that tries to carry the puck in often.

So how might Russia change for a chance to compete in future Olympics? How about building a team as well as a change in coaching philosophies? If the last few Olympics have taught the hockey-playing and watching community anything, it is that a team-first approach is the way to win gold. Take a look at USA's last two teams. Rather than pick the best players, US architects built a team that would compliment each other and compete against the best in the world, regardless of skill/talent level.

It is nice to fill a team with some of the very best in the world, but when that team can only play one style of hockey, there is little chance for success. Russia will not win a gold medal until they adopt a new style and possibly a new coach.