On May 12, the Russian national ice hockey team played its second match in the group stage of the World Championship in Slovakia. Ilya Vorobyov's wards were opposed by Austrian hockey players, known for their intransigence in matches with the leaders of world hockey.
In the match against the Austrian national team, the Russian team was considered the undisputed favorite. The Russians began to confirm this status from the very first minutes, unleashing a flurry of attacks on the opponent's goal. Already at the beginning of the period, Nikita Kucherov could have distinguished himself, who from an advantageous position played on substituting the stick above the crossbar, and the defender Nikita Zadorov, who flew in from overseas, hit the bar with his throw. But the Austrians were also able to slightly cool the ardor of the Russians' attacks with several dangerous attacks.
The first puck in the period was scored when playing in unequal compositions. At the 13th minute of the meeting, the Russians again converted the majority. Special brigades with such stars as Evgeny Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Evgeny Dadonov and others once again played out the moment in an exemplary way. Dadonov received a gorgeous transmission from Gusev and hit the Austrian gate from the half-zone. This was the third goal for the Florida striker. According to this indicator, Dadonov is currently the best sniper of the national team. Immediately after the missed puck, the Austrians were able to organize a three-in-one exit, but did not take advantage of their moment. Until the end of the period, the score on the scoreboard did not change, despite the more than threefold superiority of the Russian national team in shots on target.
The Austrian national team started the second period more actively, as indicated by the statistics on hits on target. For a long time, the Russians could not improve the accuracy of their throws, and the Austrians again and again dangerously threatened Georgiev's goal. In the first half of the second period, the Austrians were closer to a goal than the Russians. But on the 15th minute, the skill of domestic hockey players still affected. Gusev and Kucherov played an excellent combination, after which the most productive striker of the regular season of the NHL in 2018-2019, Tppa forward Nikita Kucherov scored the second goal of the match (and his second personal goal in the tournament).
Already in the next shift as part of the Russian national team, CSKA striker Ivan Telegin entered the ice rink for the first time at the 2019 World Cup. After spending less than ten seconds on the ice, the “army team” forward from the patch forwarded the puck to the Austrians' goal after the transfer of our captain Ilya Kovalchuk. The scoreboard lit up the numbers 3: 0 in favor of the Russian national team. Before the whistle for the break, the score did not change.
15 seconds after the start of the final twenty minutes, Evgeny Dadonov scored the fourth goal against the Austrians. The statistics identified defender Mikhail Sergachev and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Yevgeny Malkin as assistants to the forward.
The final score on the scoreboard was set by the captain of the Russians Ilya Kovalchuk, who, after the transfer of Dmitry Orlov from the patch, hit the gate of the Austrian national team for the fifth time. This goal was the first for our captain in the tournament and the 35th goal in the IIHF World Championships.
As in the first round match, the Russians shipped five goals to their opponent. It is gratifying that in the game under review, the gates of Ilya Vorobyov's charges remained intact.
After two rounds at the 2019 World Cup, the Russians have one hundred percent points with two wins in two games (six points).
