On to the Medal Round

As far as let downs are concerned tonight's Russia Canada game may be one of the biggest of all time. It was not quite Caps Pens game 7 but it was close. The Canadians were dominant in every facet of the game. Not to discredit the dominance of the Canadians performance but the fate of this game was sealed two months ago when Russia announced its roster. Many people in the hockey community convinced themselves that the Russian's lack of depth would be overcome by the level of talent on their top two lines. I think its pretty safe to say we were wrong and the difference in level of talent between the KHL and NHL has been revealed.

If NHL players are allowed to play in 2014 in Sochi, then I hope the Russian roster is composed of only NHL players. The Russians did themselves a huge disservice by trying to build up the reputation of the KHL. They cost themselves a chance at a medal and to be blunt they humiliated their country on the world stage.

The Russian media may end up blaming the poor performance in Vancouver on the players, but they shouldn't. At least not entirely, the coaching was even more pathetic than the performance of the players. Bykov had multiple opportunities to pull Nabokov but yet he waited until his team was down 6-1. I understand the stigma on Russian hockey when it comes to replacing star goalies in big games, but come on. Nabokov's performance was so bad that I don't think he could have beaten the Chilean National team, let alone the Canadians.

Up Next for Canada is the winner of Sweden and Slovakia. After seeing tonight's game I am terrified for any team that has to play the Canadians. However, if anyone has the goal tending and talent to beat the Canadians, it's the Swedes.