Do the Vikings upset the Olympic champions?
The schedule at these Olympic Games makes it possible that some teams have to take the ice against each other twice within a few days. In the quarter-finals, for example, the teams from the Russian Olympic Committee and Denmark will meet for the second time in five days. Of course, the favourites have not changed in this short time span.
The Russians are the Olympic champions and are also striving for the gold medal in Beijing. So far, however, the Sbornaya have not given the impression of marching through this tournament. On paper, Russia has a grateful opponent in front of them in the quarter-finals, but appearances can be deceptive, because the Danes have sold themselves well up to this point.
In the first duel between these two teams, the Russians also had their problems with the stable defence of the Olympic newcomer.
For Denmark, everything that comes next is only a bonus anyway. For the first time ever, the Vikings are playing at the Winter Olympics and by reaching the quarter-finals they have already almost exceeded their target. That could also make the Danes dangerous, but we rather expect that you will be successful in the duel between Russia and Denmark with a tip on a victory for the Russians.
Russia – Statistics & current form
When there are no NHL players at a tournament, the team from Russia is also missing some well-known players, but especially the Sbornaja can fall back on a seemingly infinite pool of players. In the KHL alone there are enough outstanding Russian players to put together several strong national teams with them.
First minimalists, then open barn door
Despite this, the Russians have not been completely convincing in Beijing so far. In the preliminary round, they took seven points from three games and thus secured the group victory, but what the Sbornaja delivered was not particularly attractive. In the first two games, the defending champions presented themselves as a team of minimalists.
Against Switzerland and against Denmark, there was a 1:0 victory and then a 2:0 win. So the defence stood up well and there was still a lot of room for improvement in attack. In the last group game against the Czechs, the Russians showed exactly the opposite. In an open exchange of blows, the score was 5:5 after 60 minutes.
The Russians lost in the overtime, but that didn’t matter because they had already won the group. This means that the Russian team had an extra day to prepare for the quarter-finals and, above all, to regenerate. This is an advantage for the Sbornaya and another reason why the odds on a Russian victory are quite low before the Russia-Denmark clash.
The Russia squad:
Goal: Fedotov, Samonov, Bilyalov
Defence: Yelesin, Telegin, Voynov, Sharipzynov, Yakovlev, Nikishin, Minulin, Nesterov
Attack: Voronkov, Andronov, Karnaukhov, Plotnikov, Galiev, Kayumov, Grigorenko, Tkachyov, Slepyshev, Chibisov, Gritsyuk, Shipachyov, Semyonov, Gusev
Head Coach: Zhamnov
Denmark – Statistics & current form
Maybe Denmark is one of the big surprises at these Winter Games in Beijing. The mode of this tournament included not being eliminated in the preliminary round, but in the group of four with Russia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, the Danes even finished a commanding second, making them the sixth best team in the preliminary round.
Greatest success for Denmark
In the run-up to the tournament, it was really only a question of whether Denmark or China would be the weakest team in Beijing. Now the Vikings are only one win away from even playing for the medals here. However, before the duel between Russia and Denmark, we would not make any predictions that the Danes will make it to the semifinals.
Head coach Heinz Ehlers’ team has won three out of four games in Beijing. In the preliminary round, they won against the Czech Republic and the Swiss. Therefore, the Danes were slightly favoured in the round of 16 against the team from Latvia and they lived up to this role.
But it was a hard piece of work. Morten Poulsen gave the Danes a 1-0 lead, but by the start of the second period the Latvians had already turned the game around. Julian Jakobsen equalised in the second period. In the final period, it was Markus Lauridsen who scored the 3:2 winning goal for the Danish team on the power play and thus ensured the greatest success in the history of this team.
The squad of Denmark:
Goal: Dichow, Dahm, Galbraith
Defence: O. Lauridsen, Nicholas Jensen. M. Lauridsen, Jensen Aabo, Bruggisser, Kristensen, Lassen, Larsen
Attack: Nielsen, Regin, Madsen, J. Jensen, Jakobsen, Poulsen, Storm, Bödker, Russell, Nicklas. Jensen, Hansen, Meyer, Asperup, Olesen
Head Coach: Ehlers
Russia – Denmark Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance
The selection from Russia will once again compete in Beijing under the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee. For the direct comparison between the Russians and the Danes, however, we must also take into account the games in which the Sbornaya actually competed under the Russian flag.
So far, there have been 13 matches between Russia and Denmark, and the Vikings will not really have fond memories of these duels. All 13 games went to the Russians. This was also the case in the last duel a few days ago in the preliminary round in Beijing. After goals from Pavel Karnaukhov and Kirill Semyonov, the Russians won 2-0.
Russia – Denmark Tip
The Danes are playing beyond their means so far in the Olympics. Three wins from four games is a great record and there is hardly a team that can top that record. Denmark has probably already achieved more in Beijing than this team could have even dreamed of.
But it is possible that the quarter-finals will be the end of the road, even if we have to assume that the Danes will give the Russians another great fight. But at the end of the day, the higher quality of the Sbornayas will have to prevail.
The Russians won 2-0 in the group stage and we can imagine that it will be more or less the same on Wednesday. The Sbornaya know that the Vikings can be dangerous if they are not put under constant pressure. We expect a concentrated performance from the Russians and therefore play the betting odds on a handicap win (-1.5) for the Olympic champions between Russia and Denmark.
