WJC: The Malkin Express

Team Russia bounced back from a tournament opening loss to Team USA with a 4-1 triumph on Monday over the Czech Republic in preliminary round action at the 2005 Under-20 World Junior Championship.

LINEUP

Lisin - Ovechkin - Pestunov

Radulov - Malkin - Shirokov

Galimov - Shafigullin - Nikulin

Voloshenko - Yunkov - Parshin

Ezhov - Vorobiev

Rylov - Misharin

Emelin - Panin

Belov - Megalinsky

Khudobin

PLAYER GAME NOTES

Alexander Ovechkin (Wsh), LW

Displayed great top speed .. failed to convert on a breakaway - tried to go left post on Schwartz who had just allowed a goal to Shirokov in the same spot .. Schwartz slid to the post and stopped Ovechkin, who didn't even lift the puck that much .. interacted better with his linemates (Lisin and Pestunov) than during the game against the Americans, but, overall, this was a relatively quiet game from the Russian captain.

Dmitri Pestunov (Phx), C

Skated around the net and made a great feed to Ovechkin 15 minutes into the first period .. Ovechkin just missed the feed at the left post and would have put it into the empty net .. got leveled at the boards late in the first period by a face-to-face hit, but, weighing 200 pounds and boasting a low center of gravity, Pestunov should not be that easy to knock down.

Enver Lisin (Phx), RW

Great speed, good puckhandler .. created excellent chance 16 minutes into the second period when he stickhandled his way around a defenseman, streaked into the offensive zone and released a feisty wristshot that Schwartz blockered over the net .. Lisin scored Russia's fourth goal by punching in a rebound .. after his line passed the puck around in the offensive zone, he stickhandled towards the net and let go a shot .. Ovechkin shot it again and then Lisin streaked in for the rebound against a sprawled-out goalie, quickly punching it into the back of the net .. did not have a particularly good first half of the game - coasting a bit and not showing much intensity .. but picked up his game late in the second period and played aggressively in the third period, fighting for the puck and making quick passes to Ovechkin and Pestunov.

Sergei Shirokov (2005), RW

Malkin set up the second goal by giving Shirokov a quick feed from the left faceoff circle to the right goal post, and Shirokov put it into the empty net .. had a great chance six minutes into the first period when he skated down the center and shot the puck .. Schwartz gave up a rebound, which Shirokov pounced on, but was able to get his glove up and stopped the puck from rising above him into the net .. Shirokov played aggressively throughout this contest .. competed and fought for the puck along the boards, however, he isn't very big and couldn't really make things happen when checking his opponent.

Evgeny Malkin (Pit), C

Played a part in Russia's first three goals .. set up the second goal by giving Shirokov a quick feed from the left face-off circle to the right goal post, which Shirokov converted .. he then put Russia up 3-0 with a backhand from the slot area .. Malkin used his tremendous reach to intercept a pass that a Czech forward had tried to slip through the circles, and beat Schwarz along the ice .. nearly scored again 10 minutes into the second period .. intercepted a pass and turned on the jets to create a breakaway, but was pulled down at the last second, drawing a penalty .. skated his way into the Czech zone halfway through the third period, went past a couple of players and shot the puck fivehole, but Schwartz was prepared.

Alexander Radulov (Nsh), LW

Skated on Russia's second line with Malkin and Shirokov .. scored the opening goal on the power play, but was not an impact physical player in this contest, was easily tied down at the boards .. at times he tried to mix it up in traffic, but, when a response came, was easily neutralized .. backchecked to help out the defense .. didn't appear to understand how to be entirely helpful, although the effort was there .. did prove to be a better fit than Parshin, who began the tournament alongside Malkin .. Radulov provided better size and durability, which will likely see him stay on the second line .. needs time to understand Malkin better .. on one particular play, Malkin skated into the zone with the puck and made a quick feed to Radulov, who was still flat-footed at the blueline and had to turn on the jets to reach the puck .. would have created a more dangerous opportunity had he started skating as soon as Malkin entered the offensive zone.

Alexander Nikulin (Ott), RW

Skated on the penalty kill with Malkin, Rylov and Misharin .. despite being placed on the wing, played well defensively, showing his true colors as a natural center .. created a couple of good scoring chances - missed on a prime opportunity in the second when he skated in on Schwartz between two Czech players, but the goalie was ready.

Grigory Shafigullin (Nsh), C

Big and strong and very good on his skates .. fights hard at the boards and is tough to knock down .. not a technical skater, but has good top speed .. didn't create much offensively .. he also had some defensive breakdowns, which Nikulin had to back him up on, one of the benefits of playing two centers together on a line .. did not appear to see the ice all that well, though that may have been more due to a lack of familiarity and chemistry between the members of Russia's third line.

Alexander Galimov (2005), LW

Great puckhandler with impressive top speed .. sees the ice well .. always taking notice of what's going on around him, even while carrying the puck .. made some nice feeds across the ice .. however, he is not very big and can't get past opponents in traffic if his puckhandling alone doesn't do the trick .. one on play, he tried to fight at the boards, hitting one of the Czech players to the right of the opponent's net while trying to bang the puck loose .. when he tried it the second time, the Czech player turned around and delivered a strong hit on Galimov that took him clean off his feet.

Roman Voloshenko (Min), LW

Flew under the radar for the most part - was not very noticeable in the game .. Parshin's presence did energize the fourth line, and while Voloshenko shot the puck more than he did against the Americans, he still operated in the background and did not get much icetime as a result.

Mikhail Yunkov (Wsh), C

Yunkov had a quiet game like linemate Voloshenko .. Yunkov always returns to his own zone and plays well defensively .. fought hard at the boards, yet didn't prove that effective against bigger players, although he did showed the willingness.

Denis Parshin (Col), RW

Very good puckhandler with impressive top speed .. skated the puck around a couple of opponents with seconds left in the final period, but got tied up rather easily by bigger players .. not very strong on his skates and is easily knocked down and controlled .. since the opposing defensemen were weaker, he had better chances on the fourth line than he did playing alongside Malkin to start the tournament, although Parshin continued to play the same quick, skilled style as always.

Denis Ezhov (Buf), D

Struggled at times in this contest and was bailed out by partner Vorobiev .. missed a couple of attempted checks at the boards .. did standout on one particular sequence early in the first period .. shot the puck from the blueline, but was forced to backpeddle after the shot deflected well behind him .. he raced one of the Czech players backed into the Russian zone, but the Czech got there first .. Ezhov then tied up the player with his body and stick, and proceeded to level him into the boards behind the net.

Dmitri Vorobiev (Tor), D

Delivered a great hit early in the first period in the neutral zone that caused a turnover .. Russia's safest defensemen .. very mobile and sees the ice well .. helped out offensively and fired a few slapshots .. a two-way defenseman who contributes in the offensive zone and is very strong defensively .. had to cover for partner Ezhov on several occasions.

Yakov Rylov (2005), D

Played better defensively than he did against the Americans .. skilled and mobile defenseman .. however, he doesn't like to skate backwards and still plays Super League hockey - letting a player go by and then trying to hook him.

Grigori Misharin (Min), D

Not very mobile and had trouble keeping up with faster forwards - instead trying to hack them with his stick .. plays physical when a player is within his range, but his lack of speed is a factor .. not a very good puckhandler .. positioning also could be improved and he needs to stay defensively oriented all the time .. skating is technical, just his top speed is not impressive.

Alexei Emelin (Mtl), D

An average-sized, but physical defenseman .. skates well .. doesn't hesitate to skate through traffic .. did miss on a couple of checking attempts along the boards .. for the most part played reliably, but did not really stand out in this game.

Grigori Panin (2005), D

A mobile skater with good top speed, however, he's also a cheap player, using his stick and holding down opponents .. got called for a holding penalty midway through the second period .. at times tries to play physical hockey, but hasn't displayed the ability to do so consistently.

Anton Belov (2005), D

Very mobile and moved around the ice well .. played solid, safe hockey for the most part .. really should have been moved up from the last line .. had one dangerous moment in his own zone when he misplayed the puck on the boards to the left of the net, but then controlled the situation and forced the Czech player behind Russia's net .. did not have as good a game as he did against the US.

Dmitri Megalinsky (2005), D

Very tough against the boards to fight with .. however, his skating is merely average .. levels people into the boards and plays physical hockey.

Anton Khudobin (Min), G

Quick butterfly goalie .. ventures out of the net more than his skills allow .. the one goal he let in was a shot along the ice right between his legs .. doesn't seem to have his full confidence - had a couple of unlucky bounces and just isn't playing like himself - despite only one goal against (stopped 25 of 26 shots) .. likes to venture outside the crease and looked better at it during this game .. didn't control rebounds all that well - a couple just trickling by the post .. a lot of his troubles may have to do with just nerves.