2017 World Championship. Group stage. Russia - Slovakia - 6:0

The senior Russian national team played their fifth match of the 2017 World Championship in Cologne. Today's opponents were Slovakia. Head coach Oleg Znarok put Nikita Gusev in the second line with Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeny Dadonov, while Artemiy Panarin sat this game out. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Julius Hudacek were the starting goaltenders.

Russia made the perfect start, finding the net in the very first minute. Evgeny Dadonov was the scorer, converting on a beautiful play. Full of confidence, our players continued piling the pressure on the Slovaks, rarely releasing the opponents from their own zone. Evgeny Dadonov doubled his tally on the powerplay, lashing an unstoppable effort top shelf at point blank range. Defenseman Andrei Mironov increased the lead to three before the period was out, as his hopeful shot from the blue line got through a screened Slovakian goalkeeper.

Despite holding a comfortable advantage, the Russians continued searching for more in the second period. The fourth goal arrived in controversial circumstances. Nikita Kucherov bundled the puck in with his skate, but after video review, the referees concluded that there was no distinct kicking motion. Ivan Telegin soon added to the Russian tally, banking a juicy rebound in off Julius Hudacek's back. Russia were dominant, however Slovakia did have a few decent chances as the period wore on. Andrei Vasilevskiy bailed our team out, pulling off some stunning saves to deny the frustrated Slovaks.

Vladislav Gavrikov put the final nail in Slovakia's coffin during the third frame, launching a thumping wrist shot beyond the stricken Julius Hudacek. Andrei Vasilevskiy kept his shutout intact in the closing stages, seeing Russia through to an impressive 6:0 victory against Slovakia!

Match protocol:

Russia - Slovakia - 6:0 (3:0, 2:0, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Dadonov (Gusev, Shipachyov), 01.12

2:0 Dadonov (Gusev, Shipachyov), 13.22

3:0 Mironov, 19.19

4:0 Kucherov (Tkachyov, Kiselevich), 22.53

5:0 Telegin (Zub, Plotnikov), 32.50

6:0 Gavrikov (Shipachyov, Dadonov), 55.47

Goalkeepers: Vasilevskiy - Hudacek

Shots on target: 39 - 22 

Penalty minutes: 6 - 8 

13.05.2017. Cologne, Germany.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation