TORONTO – I’ve still never forgiven Evgeni Nabokov.

Six years before their showdown at the World Cup of Hockey on Saturday night in Toronto, Russia and Canada had a more critical one in Vancouver, at the 2010 Winter Olympics. And, by comparison, the hype for that game made the anticipation for this one tantamount to that for a new Adam Sandler film on Netflix.

For context: Russia had eliminated Canada in the previous Olympics in 2006, in the quarterfinals. They had gotten the better of them at worlds, including an overtime win in Quebec City for the gold medal in 2008. In its quest to win gold on its home ice, Canada also had a chance to vanquish its greatest foe for the first time in the Olympics since 1960 – back when it was the Soviet Union.

So the world was watching. Canada vs. Russia. Crosby vs. Ovechkin. The hosts vs. the uninvited guests. It was going to be awesome.

And then Evgeni Nabokov [expletived] the bed.

Canada scored four goals in the first period on 21 shots. It was a barrage, and that was to be expected. But pretty much the only way anyone was beating that Canada team – or this Canada team, or any Canada team in the foreseeable future – was with a Herculean goaltending performance. Like, for example, the 42 saves Ryan Miller made in the Americans’ preliminary round game against Canada, making 18 saves in 19 shots in the first period.

Nabokov’s performance was … not that. He was lit up for four goals in the first period, and then inexplicably started the second period where Corey Perry added a fifth goal that finally chased him. The game was a 7-3 embarrassment for Russia, the biggest humiliation for that hockey nation until their failure to medal at the Putin Games of 2014.

They entered the 2010 Games on somewhat equal footing with Canada. That was not the case on Saturday night at the World Cup. Canada was the juggernaut; Russia had some offensive weaponry that could match theirs, but its defense was thin.

Yet as they say, goaltending can be the great equalizer. And for at least two periods, Russia looked like it could hang with the Canadians, for one reason: Sergei Bobrovsky.

He was everything Nabokov wasn’t, in the face of an even greater Canadian offensive blitz. Already the best goalie in the World Cup (with apologies to Jaroslav Halak), Bobrovsky gave up two goals on 33 shots through the first two periods. He was brilliant, aggressive, a human crutch propping up Team Russia’s defense as it allowed Canada to keep the puck as a pet for 40 minutes.

“Bob saved us too many times and I think today we had to help him,” said Evgeny Kuznetsov, “but we didn’t.”

Russia’s inexplicable inability to score on the power play was really at the heart of its inability to put a real scare into Canada. ‘The Bob,’ as his coach called him, couldn’t do it alone. Although he nearly did.

“I feel great. I tried to do as much as I can for the team. I work hard, I give everything I had,” said Bobrovsky.

Early in the third period, he made a five-star save on Brad Marchand as he went to the net. But then the wall crumbled just a bit: Marchand sniped a long-distance shot from the top of the zone, beating Bobrovsky and giving Canada the lead and a shot of adrenaline that led to two more goals in the period, en route to a 5-3 win.





“There was the bad combination for me: a little bit of traffic and a perfect shot. He shoot at the perfect time – I didn’t see the start of his shot. And obviously the shot was very good,” said Bobrovsky.

“Obviously we’re disappointed. We wanted to move to final.”

He nearly dragged them there.

For Bobrovsky, the tournament was a reminder of his dominance, or the potential for it. That 2013 Vezina Trophy seems like a decade ago, thanks to three seasons with middling results, much of them due to injuries. He hasn’t even hit the Vezina ballot in the last two seasons; in 2015-16, Bobrovsky played 37 games and had a .916 save percentage.

He wasn’t that goalie in the World Cup. He was in Vezina form. He was exactly what Russia needed to hang with their archrivals: Competent, confident and nearly criminal in stealing the game.

“That’s why he’s one of the best goalies in the world,” said Alex Ovechkin. “He played unbelievable. When they score, it’s not his mistake. He gave us a chance.”

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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