2016 World Cup: Russia vs North America game thread, schedule, lines, and how to watch
The Russians desperately need a win to keep their title hopes alive, but the North Americans aren’t going to make that easy.
Check out all the highlights & game recap of North America versus Russia here
Russia started off its 2016 World Cup of Hockey tournament with a tough matchup against Sweden. The contest pitted two of the top competitors against one another right out of the gate, and despite very nearly coming back from a two-goal deficit in the final minute of play, Russia ultimately fell to a strong Swedish side, and already finds itself on the back foot two days into the event.
With just three game of preliminary-round play, the Russians must win this game to stay in contention. Another loss will make it impossible to finish among the top two in Group B that advance to the playoff round, so they have no choice but to leave it all on the ice.
In their way stands a team that many felt was a gimmick to generate interest when the tournament was initially announced, but is now regarded by many as the team to watch. Team North America came away with a convincing 4-1 win in their match versus Finland on Sunday night, and can claim a spot in the semi-finals with a victory tonight.
The North Americans have speed and skill to spare. The Russians have elite offensive skill throughout their lineup. There’s a lot at stake in tonight’s match, and it should be a fascinating contest.
Puck drop is at 8:00 PM EDT at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario
How to watch
In Canada (French): TVA Sports
In Canada (English): Sportsnet
In the United States: ESPN2
Stream: Watch ESPN
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Nikita Kucherov | Evgeny Kuznetsov | Alex Ovechkin |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | Evgeni Malkin | Pavel Datsyuk |
| Evgenii Dadonov | Vadim Shipachyov | Artemi Panarin |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | Artem Anisimov | Ivan Telegin |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Nikita Zaitsev | Dmitry Orlov |
| Alexei Emelin | Andrei Markov |
| Alexey Marchenko | Dmitry Kulikov |
| Goaltenders |
| Semyon Varlamov |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Auston Matthews |
Connor McDavid | Mark Scheifele |
| Jonathan Drouin | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Nathan MacKinnon |
| Johnny Gaudreau | Jack Eichel | Dylan Larkin |
| Vincent Trochek | Sean Couturier | Brandon Saad |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Morgan Rielly | Aaron Ekblad |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | Colton Parayko |
| Ryan Murray | Seth Jones |
| Goaltenders |
| John Gibson |
| Matt Murray |