Winter Olympics hockey 2014: Line combinations take shape during men’s practice
The men’s national teams hit the ice for the first time in Sochi.
Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
With the NHL on hiatus and the hockey Olympians all settled in Sochi, the Olympic hockey teams held their first practices on Monday. It was the first chance for the new teammates to get acquainted and the first chance for fans and media to get an idea of what the line combinations will be throughout the tournament.
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United States
USA’s lines are from NHL.com’s Shawn Roarke. The defensive pairings are from Sports Illustrated’s Sarah Kwak.
Forwards:
James van Riemsdyk - Joe Pavelski - Phil Kessel
Dan Bylsma is going with some interesting combinations here. Any line with Ryan Kesler and Dustin Brown should be considered your third line, so why is Patrick Kane buried that low? The top line of van Riemsdyk, Pavelski and Kessel will be exciting to watch.
Derek Stepan and Blake Wheeler were used as extra forwards.
Defensive pairings:
Suter’s defensive prowess should make up for any mistakes from the offensively-minded Fowler. Overall a nice mix of offensive and defensive paring combinations from USA’s coaching staff. It’ll be interesting to see which pairing gets scratched to begin the tournament.
Canada
Team Canada's line combinations and pairings are from Bob McKenzie.
Forwards:
We all know that Canada has a wealth of forward talent, but seeing it in the line combinations really hits it home. These combinations are certainly subject to change, but right now it looks like coach Mike Babcock is going with a good blend of size and skill on his top three lines. It also looks like Matt Duchene and Martin St. Louis will be scratched.
Defensive pairings:
Obviously, the big name missing here is P.K. Subban. His point production has slipped a little over the last couple of weeks, but it would still be a surprise to see him watching from the press box during Canada's first game.
Russia
The Russian lines and pairings were reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Dimitry Chesnokov.
Forwards:
Alexander Radulov - Aleksandr Svitov - Ilya Kovalchuk
Alexander Popov - Alexei Tereschenko - Viktor Tikhonov
First of all, that top line might be the most dangerous in the entire tournament with Malkin centering two world-class finishers in Semin and Ovechkin. The lines below them will probably change, as Pavel Datsyuk didn't practice and Valeri Nichushkin is notably absent.
Defensive pairings:
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Alexei Emelin - Evgeni Medvedev
Ilya Nikulin - Fedor Tyutin.
It will be interesting to see which of these pairings eats up the most minutes, assuming the coaching staff doesn’t tinker with the combinations before the first game. The blueline features a good combination of KHL and NHL defensemen on the same pairing, as opposed to the segregated forward lines.
Sweden
Helene St. James reported Sweden’s lines on Saturday.
Forwards:
Gabriel Landeskog- Henrik Zetterberg - Alexander Steen
Daniel Sedin - Nicklas Backstrom- Loui Eriksson
Gustav Nyquist - Patrice Berglund - Daniel Alfredsson
Carl Hagelin - Marcus Kruger- Jimmie Ericsson
Sweden might boast the most physical top line in the tournament, as both Landeskog and Zetterberg use their size along with their playmaking abilities.
Finland
The only report from Finland's practice is that Aleksander Barkov will center Teemu Selanne and Mikael Granlund on the top line. That just goes to show how thin the injury-ravaged Finnish team is up front.
Czech Republic
The Czechs will play Tomas Plekanec on a line with Jaromir Jagr and Roman Cervenka, per Roman Jedlicka of NOVA Sport.
More on the Winter Olympics:
• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis
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