Four Corners, Two Walls

When Russia failed to win an Olympic hockey medal at Lillehammer in 1994, the demise of the old Soviet Big Red Machine seemed final. It took a format change that allowed NHL stars into the Games to accelerate Russia’s rise from the ruins.

Russia, whose 4-0 record matches Canada’s as the tournament’s best, will continue pursuit of its first medal as an independent country when it faces Finland in a semifinal game Friday at Big Hat arena. In the other semifinal, Canada will face the Czech Republic, which eliminated the U.S. in the quarterfinals.

Finland, which has never won a hockey gold medal, reached the semifinals with a 2-1 upset of Sweden, the defending Olympic champion. Although the goaltending of Jarmo Myllys was expected to be a weak spot, Myllys has played capably.

“Before the Olympics, NHL guys would say, ‘Oh, your goalie isn’t very good,’ but this is a bigger ice surface, which he’s used to,” right wing Teemu Selanne said. “Our goalie has played great.”

Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu and Selanne are also enjoying the wider international-size rink and have combined for seven goals and 19 points. Selanne scored both goals against Sweden.

“That was a big step forward, but I think we can be hungrier and we can win,” he said. “If we play smart against Russia, we can beat anybody.”

However, Finland couldn’t defeat Russia in their first encounter in this tournament. The Finns took a 2-0 lead but Russia rallied to win, 4-3, in round-robin play.

“They have a pretty good team,” said defenseman Aki Berg of Finland and the Kings, “but if we play the same kind of game we played against Sweden, we have a chance to win.”

Canada, which has scored 16 goals and given up four, will be without center Joe Sakic, who sprained his left knee in the 4-1 quarterfinal victory over Kazakhstan. Sakic had also been playing the point on the power play, a role Chris Pronger or Steve Yzerman might inherit. Trevor Linden, who had been playing right wing with Brendan Shanahan and Sakic, will probably move into the middle.

“You deal with what’s there and you find a way to persevere,” Coach Marc Crawford said. “We’re a deep team and we have a number of options. We’ve got to find a way to overcome it.”

Here’s a look at the semifinals:

RUSSIA (4-0) vs. FINLAND (2-2)

Right wing Pavel Bure has resembled the Russian rocket of old in scoring four goals in four games for the revitalized Russians. They have speed and skill on their top two lines with Alexei Zhamnov centering for Valeri Kamensky and Bure, and with Sergei Fedorov (one goal, five points) centering for Andrei Kovalenko and Alexei Yashin (three goals, five points). Their defense has some bangers and good power-play catalysts in Alex Zhitnik and Dmitri Mironov.

Duck backup goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov started in Russia’s 4-1 quarterfinal victory over Belarus and is among the tournament leaders with a 1.06 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. He is known for his poise under pressure, which should stand him in good stead if he starts against the Finns.

Finland’s offensive depth doesn’t extend past the Lehtinen-Koivu-Selanne line--no other forward has three points. The Russians have the speed to keep up with the fast Finns and the muscle to move them off the puck. The Russian hockey renaissance marches on.

CANADA (4-0) vs. CZECH REPUBLIC (3-1)

Goaltenders Patrick Roy of Canada and Dominik Hasek of the Czech Republic are expected to steal the show, but both teams have enough scoring potential to keep this from being dull. Look for Canada to give more ice time to Wayne Gretzky, who had two key assists in its 4-1 quarterfinal victory over Kazakhstan, and look for big forwards such as Eric Lindros, Keith Primeau and Joe Nieuwendyk to crash the net in an effort to distract Hasek. The Czech defense, which includes Roman Hamrlik, Petr Svoboda and Jiri Slegr, is rugged enough to stop them.

Canada has an edge offensively, thanks to the rejuvenation of Nieuwendyk (two goals, five points) at center between Rob Zamuner and Theoren Fleury and the chances generated by the line of Shayne Corson, Lindros and Rod Brind’Amour. The Czechs have a game-breaker in right wing Jaromir Jagr, who has been outstanding. Martin Rucinsky (three goals, four points) has also played impressively.

Canada’s defense, revamped since its 1996 World Cup loss, has excelled. Rob Blake and Ray Bourque have played as though they’ve been paired for years, not merely a week, and Scott Stevens had adapted well to the big ice surface. Watch for ferocious battles in front of Hasek as Canada’s forwards try to set up residence in the slot for deflections and tip-ins. If Hasek is on, it will be close, but Canada should prevail.