World Cup of Hockey. Russia - Sweden

In Toronto, Canada, the Russian national team will begin their World Cup of Hockey campaign against Sweden.

This is the day which many fans around the globe have been waiting for, and Russia are under real pressure to perform. Head coach Oleg Znarok has an injury free roster at his disposal, and in the tournament warm-up games, he has been given reasons to be optimistic. Our players beat the Czechs 4:3 in Saint Petersburg, lost 1:2 on penalty shots away, and despite going to down Canada 2:3 a few days ago the players gave a positive performance.

During media interviews, Harijs Vitolins stated that Sergei Bobrovsky will be trusted in net. His opposite number will be Sweden's Henrik Lundqvist, a goalkeeper which has become an irreplaceable figure for the New York Rangers over the years. 

Overall, Sweden have a well balanced team, with many experts tipping them for big things at this competition. Their back line featuring the likes of Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman and Niklas Kronwall has been pointed out as a particular strong point, and Russia's forwards will have to be at their best.

However, in recent friendly matches, Sweden haven't looked that solid at all. They won one out of two fixtures with Finland and against Team Europe, they contrived to concede six goals in a heavy 2:6 defeat.

The Russia - Sweden World Cup of Hockey match will begin at 22:00 Moscow time. Our official Twitter account will have a live text broadcast.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation