THE OLYMPICS : WINTER GAMES AT ALBERTVILLE : By Any Name, Former Soviets Are Still the Team to Beat : Hockey: CIS is favored to win gold, with Sweden, Finland and Canada in running. Americans looking to improve.

The Soviet Union exists no longer, but its tradition of Olympic hockey success figures to live on.

Despite the exodus of many of its top players to the NHL, the country now known as the Commonwealth of Independent States has not been diminished as a hockey power. With a vast talent pool--and a program well-funded by transfer fees paid by NHL teams--the re-christened Unified Team is favored to win the gold medal in Meribel and continue the dominance of the Soviets, who have won seven championships in the last nine Olympics.

“There’s still a lot of talent in the Soviet Union, a lot of young kids,” said former NHL goaltender John Davidson, a TV analyst for CBS at the Games. “The question is, can they get it together and play well under pressure? Sweden and Russia are 1 and 1A, no doubt about it. Then there’s Finland, Canada, Czechoslovakia and the U.S. at the next level.”

For the U.S. team to win a medal, the Unified Team would have to be tripped up by its lack of international experience, the Swedes fail to blend their disparate talents and Canada’s team bus leave goaltender Sean Burke and center Eric Lindros at the Olympic Village. The United States, grouped with Sweden, Italy, Germany, Finland and Poland, makes its debut Sunday against Italy, which will be coached by former Pittsburgh Penguin Coach Gene Ubriaco. Group B, consisting of the Unified Team, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Norway and France, opens play Saturday.

In a format that enhances the U.S. team’s chances, the top four finishers in each group, instead of the top three, will advance to the medal round. The medal round will be a single-elimination format, with the winner of each group playing the fourth-place team from the opposite group and the second-place finishers playing the other group’s third-place team.

“I like our team. I think the American people are going to be very pleased,” said U.S. Coach Dave Peterson, who has few NHL players because teams won’t release their stars at the height of the season. “I don’t see us as a clear-cut favorite, don’t get me wrong. . . . There’s a lot of grit and character and more talent than people think.”

Despite producing dozens of talented players who are the mainstays of NHL teams, the U.S. Olympic program has produced two successive seventh-place finishes since Herb Brooks’ college kids stunned the Soviets and won the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980.

Peterson, whose abrasive personality at Calgary in 1988 tainted the Americans’ image, took lessons in media relations as a condition of being reappointed coach. What matters here is whether he learned a lesson from his neglect of defense in 1988, which cost Team USA a medal when it twice squandered three-goal leads against Czechoslovakia in its second game.

“We have a little more experience on defense this time,” said Peterson, who recently added NHL veteran Moe Mantha, Montreal minor leaguer Sean Hill and defensive-minded Guy Gosselin from the 1988 Olympic squad. “Last time they were all young but very talented. This time, we have some experience back there, which we hope will help.”

In pre-Olympic competition, the U.S was 4-14-3 against NHL opponents and 22-32-8 overall. Although Peterson has added goalie Mike Dunham, who led the U.S. junior national team to a surprise third-place finish at last month’s world junior tournament in Germany, career minor leaguer Ray LeBlanc will probably start. LeBlanc alternated with Scott Gordon for much of the pre-Olympic schedule.

In a schedule far more grueling than in 1988, when romps against college teams dulled its skills, the U.S. team was outscored, 277-230. Team USA has some speed and playmaking ability in centers Shawn McEachern of Boston University--its scoring leader with 26 goals and 50 points--and David Emma, winner of the 1991 Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey.

“Our record is a little misleading. We’re better than our record shows,” Peterson said. “We’ve looked at a lot of people. If we stayed with one lineup, I’m sure our record would be better.”

But probably still not good enough to challenge the Swedes and Unified Team. Longtime Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov has a potent offense and a balanced defense, but goaltending might be a weakness. Center Viacheslav Bykov and right wing Andrei Khomutov, members of the gold medal-winning 1988 team, head the offense with support from 18-year-old right winger Alexei Kovalev, a New York Ranger first-round draft pick who was among the top players at the world junior tournament. Alexei Zhitnik, the Kings’ 1991 fourth-round draft pick, is touted for stardom at age 18 and will be watched closely here by King General Manager Rogie Vachon, who hopes to bring him to Los Angeles within a year.

Former NHL All-Star left winger Mats Naslund (Montreal), center Bengt Gustafsson (Washington), right wing Hakan Loob (Calgary) and 40-year-old defenseman Borje Salming (Toronto) lead the slick, experienced Swedes. Their goalie, Tommy Soderstrom, is another reason Sweden is expected to exceed its bronze medals of each of the last three Games.

Canada hasn’t won an Olympic medal since it took a bronze at Grenoble in 1968. That drought will probably end because of Lindros, who became a subject of national debate when he refused to play in Quebec after being chosen first in last June’s draft.

Finland, with a handful of former NHL players--including ex-King Mikko Makela and speedy winger Petri Skriko--will be competitive but not a threat to the top two teams.