2016 World Cup: Sweden vs. Russia game thread, schedule, lines, and how to watch

Always a contender in international competition, Sweden’s quest for the World Cup of Hockey title begins this afternoon. To help them claim a new trophy to add to their impressive haul of international championships is their top-tier defence; perhaps the most dynamic of the eight teams in the tournament.

Leading the way is two-time Norris Trophy-winner Erik Karlsson, who has the ability to drive the offence from the back end, and will be at the top of the list of the tournament’s top scorers when the group stage completes.

Whether they advance past that stage will depend on how well that blue line is able to handle defensive duties, and how much of an offensive contribution can be gained from the forwards corps. Despite what appears, on paper, to be a strong attacking group, Sweden was only able to score two goals in two of three pre-tournament games versus Findland and Team Europe. They will need to get additional goal-scoring outside the top line comprised of the Vancouver Canucks’ trio of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and Loui Eriksson.

The Russians defence may be just what Sweden needs to get going. The blue line is manned by several inexperienced players and older veterans Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin of the Montreal Canadiens. Russia was outshot in each of the three tune-up games they played, and that’s a recipe for disaster against a team like Sweden.

They can turn the table on the offensively-skewed defence of Sweden, however, if their full complement of superstar forwards can keep the pressure on players who are much more at home at the opposite end of the ice. The former KHL line of Artemi Panarin, Vadim Shipachev, and Evgeny Dadonov has wreaked havoc on opposing goaltenders so far, and the awakerning of players like Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin could make them an unstoppable force.

Puck drop is at 3:00 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: ESPN

Stream: Watch ESPN

These lineups are subject to change, and we will update if there is any news.

Scratched: Nikolay Kulemin, Nikita Nesterov, Andrei Vasilevskiy