STOCKHOLM – Coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s Russian team stayed perfect at this tournament on Sunday, though not as easily as expected. Norway’s power play kept it alive through 40 minutes, but the Russians buckled down in the third for a 4-2 victory.
Click here for a video with post-game comments.Pavel Datsyuk, Denis Denisov, Nikolai Kulyomin, and Alexander Perezhogin scored for Russia, and Yevgeni Malkin continued his torrid early pace with two assists. Morten Ask and Marius Holtet replied for Norway, both goals coming with the man advantage.
"We have key guys like Malkin playing very well," said Russia's Dmitri Kalinin. "If they continue to do that, we'll see what happens. But we just have to keep playing hard."
Russian starting goalie Semyon Varlamov got the win as his side outshot Norway 46-21. Lars Volden, a 19-year-old Oslo native who was drafted in the sixth round by the NHL’s Boston Bruins last year, played well in his World Championship debut between the pipes for Norway.
"I think our team worked hard against Sweden and here today," said Norwegian coach Roy Johansen. "I'm satisfied with the effort."
The Russians dominated territorially in the first five minutes, although the Norwegians picked up their skating game as the opening period wore on. Malkin came close on a wraparound attempt, which slid through Volden’s crease and landed on the stick of Alexander Perezhogin for another good chance.
Russia received the game’s first power play with six minutes left in the first period after Anders Bastiansen interfered with Nikolai Kulyomin in the Norwegian end. But despite plenty of pressure, there was no goal, and the Norwegians had to be satisfied after 20 minutes though outshot 14-5.
Datsyuk got things started for Russia at 1:21 of the second period with the man advantage. His wrister from the left faceoff circle beat Volden high to the blocker side, and caromed out off the back bar so quickly that video review was required to confirm the goal.
Norway took two more consecutive minors, and paid the price. A perfectly placed Denisov blast went in off Volden’s left post to make it 2-0 at 6:01.
After Nikita Nikitin clipped Per-Åge Skrøder with a high stick, the Norwegians got some life with an extended two-man advantage. Ask powered a slapshot past Varlamov’s stick just past the halfway mark of the game to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Norwegians thought they’d tied it up a minute later when Skrøder, jostling for position in front, backhanded a rebound home. But the whistle had already blown and it was called off. Norwegian fans among the 4,438 in attendance jeered the decision as the game continued.
"I'm not satisfied with the decision on the no-goal," said Johansen. "There were only four people on the ice who didn't see it was a goal."
"After the goal, for the next five or six minutes, we were screaming on the bench, and lost our focus," said Patrick Thoresen. "Being so unfocused led to Russia's third goal."
Indeed, Russia responded promptly. Malkin took a big hit in the corner from Martin Røymark, and got the puck to Kulyomin, who stickhandled straight to the slot and zipped the puck past Volden’s blocker to give the Russians a 3-1 lead at 12:46. Malkin was shaken up on the sequence, as Norwegian captain Ole-Kristian Tollefsen fell on him, but he would carry on after sporting an ice pack on his neck at the bench.
"The key with Malkin was to skate with him and stay close to him, not let him skate through the middle with the puck," opined Thoresen. "If you could do that, you could start to think about being successful."
Showing some resilience, the Norwegians fought back on the power play to make it 3-2. Holtet completed a nice passing play by whipping a high shot from the left faceoff circle past Varlamov at 15:52 of the second. Enthusiastic chants of “Norge!” resounded from the Norwegian fans in the Globen Arena’s lower bowl.
Just 40 seconds into the third period, Perezhogin deflated Norway’s comeback hopes by working a quick give-and-go with Malkin on the rush and flicking the puck through Volden’s five-hole.
Halfway through the third, Alexander Svitov gobbled up a giveaway inside the Norwegian blueline and had all day to waltz in on Volden, but the young netminder stood his ground. He also made scintillating stops on rushes by Perezhogin and Datsyuk. But Volden's Norwegian teammates couldn't find a way to close the two-goal gap.
Norway has never beaten Russia in either its current or Soviet incarnation at the IIHF World Championship. It has now lost eight straight times dating back to 1954.
LUCAS AYKROYD
