Soviets Defeat NHL Stars, 5-3, Keep Coach From Seeing Pink
Victor Tikhonov was in a nasty mood Thursday. The coach of the Soviet national team knew that after losing to the National Hockey League All-Star team here Wednesday night, changes would have to be made--or some changes would be made.
Tikhonov knew that, after a dismal season in Soviet hockey, the job he saves might be his own. So he pushed his team hard in practice Thursday.
But, by coaching the Soviets to a 5-3 win over the NHL All-Stars Friday night before 15,395 in Le Colisee, Tikhonov symbolically tore up his own pink slip.
Tikhonov has been under constant pressure at home. Critics have said his style of rigid defense has hampered the Soviets’ traditional style of a flowing passing game. In addition, the Soviets failed to qualify for the Canada Cup final in 1984. They were third at the world tournament in 1985.
Never far from the picture was former Soviet team captain Boris Mikhailov, who--it is whispered after each Soviet loss--will soon succeed Tikhonov.
At least for now, however, Tikhonov has his victory, and his job. Both are a bit shaky. The Soviet team didn’t exactly outplay the NHL team. But Tikhonov was not in the mood to quibble over that Friday night.
His grandfatherly face broke into a scowl at questions about his job security. Did he think he would lose his job after losing the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics?
“Nothing has happened, has it?” he said.
Asked if he thought his job was secure, Tikhonov smiled at the questioner through bared teeth.
“Just from the question you are asking, do you want me to get away from being the coach?”
The Soviets were rougher and more intense than they had been in Wednesday night’s 4-3 loss. Tikhonov’s strategy was to speed up the pace of the game--which was faster than the NHL players were used to--and take more shots on goal.
“We planned something and we fulfilled every part of the plan,” Tikhonov said.
It didn’t look that way at first, unless the plan was to spot the NHL a quick goal. Mark Messier scored 10 seconds into a power play at 3:32 in the first period.
At that point, it looked as if the predictions of a Soviet rout had been incorrect. But that was before the Soviets’ three-goal second period.
The key to the attack was 20-year-old Valeri Kamensky. The forward had two goals in the period, the second at 19:41 that seemed to demoralize the NHL team.
“They were really buzzing around the net tonight,” said Kevin Dineen of Hartford. “When they scored that goal at the end of the period, it took something out of us. It was a turning point. Instead of being 2-1, it was 3-1 and the momentum shifted.”
Kamensky scored while the NHL’s top defensive pair was on the ice, Rick Green of Montreal and Rod Langway of Washington.
The goal was a smooth piece of stick-handling and skating by Kamensky. Green came out to pick him up, then was quickly left behind.
Langway became the only thing between Kamensky and Edmonton goaltender Grant Fuhr. Kamensky faked a shot and Langway went down to block it, allowing Kamensky to shoot over the prone defenseman.
“I think he (Kamensky) won the game for them,” Ray Bourque of Boston said. “He really played a strong game. We key on the (Igor) Larionov line so much, that other line sort of hurt us.”
With the Soviets leading, 3-1, going into the final period, the NHL team began to press. “We had to take some chances,” Mike Ramsey of Buffalo said.
The NHL drew to 3-2 on Doug Wilson’s power-play goal at 7:33 in the third. It was set up by Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky, who had three assists and was named the NHL’s outstanding player. Kamensky won the award for the Soviet team.
But even as the NHL appeared to be mounting a comeback, the Soviets were getting continual scoring chances.
“We each had a lot of chances, they just capitalized on theirs,” Ramsey said.
Goals by Valdimir Krutov and Andrei Khomutov made it 5-2 for the Soviets, and even Gretzky was pounding his stick to the ice in frustration.
Bourque’s goal at 19:23 gave the NHL only some measure of self respect, but, with the two-game series split, failed to answer the question of which team was the best in the world.
“They’ve got great hockey players, and we’ve got great hockey players in North America,” Gretzky said, looking small and tired inside a huddle of reporters. “No one’s going to dominate 20-30 games. It’s not that way anymore.”
That’s good news for the rest of the world, but still scary for Tikhonov--and his job.
Hockey Notes
ESPN is delighted with its overnight ratings from Wednesday’s game. The first game got a 2.6 rating, the highest ever for a hockey game on ESPN. The previous best was a 1.4 for a Bruins-Rangers game this season. The rating also means Wednesday’s game reached more than a million homes. . . . Two players went home Thursday. Tomas Sandstrom returned to New York because of a fractured right ankle, which will keep him out for between two to six weeks. Tim Kerr pulled a thigh muscle and returned to Philadelphia. . . . King General Manager Rogie Vachon said Friday the Kings were searching for an assistant coach. Since the expulsion of former coach Pat Quinn on Jan. 9, the Kings have been short a coach, especially for the special teams.
