It has been a while, but the big, bad Russians have a perfect chance to play the ultimate hockey villain on Thursday afternoon at the Air Canada Centre.
All the love and admiration for Team North America, the legitimate darlings of this 2016 World Cup of Hockey, will end in heartbreak if Alex Ovechkin and his talented understudies defeat Finland in a crucial Group B match-up.
Once Sweden took Wednesday’s game against the Young Guns to overtime, it was the best possible result for the enigmatic Russians, who now have a glorious chance to became relevant again in a best-on-best tournament.