Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

What Happened To Team Russia?

02/19/2014 at 12:53pm EST

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

• The failure of the KHL and NHL players on the roster to blend into a cohesive team was clear and apparent. There were rumors in the past few days of tension in the Russian camp, and at the heart of it was the KHL-NHL issue. Why in the world was Alexander Popov playing on the top line with Ovechkin and Malkin the past two games? Why was KHL defenseman Evgeni Medvedev among the leaders in ice time on the team, playing more than NHLers such as Fedor Tyutin and Alexei Emelin?

Why? Because the KHL and Russian hockey hoped to use the world's biggest hockey games as a propaganda tool for the Russian professional league that vies to rival the NHL. Well, that was a complete and utter disaster.

• Which leads you to also finger the coach, known as "Coach Bil." His bizarre decisions, including having Malkin on a second-unit power play, which featured the likes of Nikolai Kulemin, well, that just made no sense.

more including the coach calling out Ovechkin...

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Shanny_Fan in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 6 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 19 minutes ago
Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 31 minutes ago
Comment by RWHockey13 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 46 minutes ago
Comment by TreKronor in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 47 minutes ago