The Russian National Hockey Team was once a monster. The literal translation of the Red Army into sport. And, really, they embodied what was the best idealistic hopes of socialism. That the hive-mind mentality could lead to greater collective achievement.
Today’s Russian team is an odd blustery amalgam of interesting parts. They have one guy born when Alexander Yakushev and Valeri Kharmalov were the USSR’s best forwards on a squad that was beating up the NHL’s best. And they have a few players who have no viable memories of the Soviet system.
They’ve been typically uneven during the first five games (including exhibition).