Team Russia confident it can make semifinals

TORONTO -- Team Russia had Tuesday off from practice but gathered in the morning to sing "Happy birthday" to goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who turned 28.
Team Russia probably should have sprung for at least a cake for Bobrovsky -- affectionately called "The Bob" by coach Oleg Znarok -- after he kept it alive in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 with 43 saves in a 4-3 win against Team North America on Monday.

After Team Russia lost 2-1 to Team Sweden in its opening game on Sunday, another loss would have pushed it to the brink of elimination from contention for the two semifinal berths in Group B. Now, it has a good chance to advance if it can defeat Team Finland in its final preliminary-round game at Air Canada Centre on Thursday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVA Sports).
"It was a very important game for us," Znarok said Tuesday. "Now we have a good chance to [advance] in the tournament. Now everything depends on the next game."

Having two days to recover before its next game will help Team Russia physically after it opened the tournament by playing on consecutive days. Left wing Ivan Telegin twice struggled to get off the ice after blocking shots in the third period on Monday, but Znarok said he was "feeling well" on Tuesday.
Team Russia was also feeling much better psychologically after getting a victory. Russia has struggled recently in best-against-best tournaments, failing to win a medal in the past three Olympics, including as the host country in the 2014 Sochi Games.
So winning on Monday was big boost for its confidence.
"It was a good win for us," Team Russia center Evgeni Malkin said. "We feel so much better. We played against a great team of young stars. It's an unbelievable team, so fast, but now we look to the next game against Finland and we need to win again."
All four of Team Russia's goals on Monday came in a span of 6:14 in the second period. During a 10-minute surge, it exposed some weaknesses in Team North America's defense and took advantage of some shaky goaltending by Matt Murray.
Team Russia generated more scoring chances during that stretch than it did in the entire game against Team Sweden.
"I think we were pressuring their 'D' a little bit into making mistakes and we got a screen in front of Murray and more shots," said right wing Vladislav Namestnikov, whose goal 9:29 into the second period tied the game at 1-1.
Namestnikov was a healthy scratch for the loss to Team Sweden, but played in place of Vadim Shipachyov on Monday. That lineup change paid off, as did Znarok's tinkering with the line combinations.
Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko moved up to the first line with Alex Ovechkin and Pavel Datsyuk and Kucherov slotted down to the second line with Nikolay Kulemin and Malkin. In addition, Evgeny Kuznetsov moved up to center Artemi Panarin and Evgeny Dadonov on the third line and Namestnikov took Kuznetsov's former spot at right wing on the fourth line with Telegin and Artem Anisimov.
Tarasenko, Kucherov, Kuznetsov and Namestnikov all scored goals.

"I think we played better," Malkin said. "The first game we didn't play great and the coach changed the lines a little bit and I think it's better for us. We have more chemistry and I think we played more in the offensive zone. I liked what we did."
That said, there remained plenty of room for improvement. Team North America dominated for stretches in the first period and for almost all of the third, outshooting Team Russia 19-4 in the final period.
But Team Russia did enough good things to win.
"It's easier when you score four goals in 20 minutes, but we played the right way," Malkin said. "We played in the offensive zone, we shot the puck more. In the first game, we didn't shoot much and in the second game we shot more. Our game, we need to play 60-70 percent in the offensive zone because we have great forwards. Every forward can score. We just have to spend more time in the offensive zone."
Team Russia turned its World Cup around by defeating Team North America. Getting another win against Team Finland and reaching the semifinals would be the next step.
"For sure, but the goal is to win it all," Namestnikov said. "That's what we came here for and we're going to do everything to get to that."