Quarter-final #1: Russia vs. Germany
How to watch
Puck drop: 12:00 PM EST / 9:00 AM PST
In Canada: TSN (English,) RDS (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Live stream Here: https://is.gd/eF2j8M
Germany finally had a normal number of players for their match against Switzerland to wrap up the preliminary round, and the result was five goals scored to not only secure a playoff-round berth, but the third seed in Group A. The question now is how much is left in the tank of those who had to take on the extra workload while teammates finished up their mandated quarantines.
Tim Stützle has been among the stars of the tournament, ranking third in scoring with 10 points, but he’s also played 103:47 of high-tempo hockey in the span of a week, with his linemate John-Jason Peterka just a few minutes back. Simon Gnyp, Germany’s top defenceman, averaged 28:43 through the preliminary round to lead all players on all teams.
Fatigue has to be becoming a factor, and Igor Larionov has his team playing a style that will take advantage of it. Russia is using a very aggressive system that gives opposing players little room to move, with puck-carriers met head-on by their defence as it looks to turn the puck over immediately. That type of game will be tough for Germany to match for 60 minutes, but don’t bet against Stützle and co. pulling off another great performance.