Russia call up Malkin for quarterfinal

Russian players celebrate after the Ice Hockey World Championship 2014 match against Belarus at the Minsk arena in Minsk, Belarus, on Tuesday.AFP/Minsk, BelarusRussia, seeking redemption for their Sochi Olympics failure, face France in the ice hockey world championships quarter-finals today. Preliminary Group B winners Russia, the only team with a perfect record, have strengthened their line-up with the inclusion of Pittsburgh Penguins sharpshooter Yevgeni Malkin. Russia failed to reach the semi-finals at the last world champs. “When (Russia’s manager) Oleg Znarok called me I was really delighted to be invited to his team,” two-time Art Ross trophy winner Malkin said on his arrival in Minsk. “After Pittsburgh were eliminated I was feeling very down, but now I’m ready to battle again. “I’ve come here to help my team and I’ll give it everything I’ve got. I hope I can show my best hockey here.” France, through to the knockout stages for the first time since 1995, will try to repeat their 2-1 win over Russia, their first ever success over the former Soviet Republic, in last year’s preliminary round. The team’s first line Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Antoine Roussel and Stephane Da Costa are leading the troops as their trio have scored 15 of the French team’s 25 goals at the event, while star goalie Cristobal Huet conducted well the team’s defence. The French team coach Dave Henderson said he was happy both with his team’s performance and their achievements. “This is huge for French hockey,” Dave Henderson said afer France booked their quarter-final spot. “It’s been a long time since it last happened. I’m totally happy with the team.” Reigning world champions Sweden, runners-up in Group A, will take on hosts Belarus in the late quarter-final match. The Swedes will have to overcome Belarus, in the last eight for the first time since 2009, to match their 1992 exploit when the Scandinavians last managed to retain the title. However, it hasn’t been a perfect tournament for the Swedes as they struggled to put on the red light in 2-1 wins over minnows Norway and France. They have also blown away a 2-0 lead against Canada in a battle for top spot in Group A, which could wind up meaning a possible dangerous semi-final confrontation with the Russians. Belarus manager Glen Hanlon meanwhile said: “I’m really, really proud of our players. The whole country should be proud. “That was a real gutsy, courageous performance here at our home ice. And we’re looking forward to a quarter-final with the Swedes hoping to bring more joy to our supporters.” Olympic champions Canada, Group A winners who are seeking their first gold since 2007, tackle two-time world champions Finland for a place in the semi-finals. Canada, who came to Minsk after taking gold in Sochi with a completely new line-up, are seeking their first world championship’s medals since finishing runners-up in 2009. Finland were unimpressive in the preliminary round, earning a knockout stage place courtesy of Switzerland’s 3-2 win over Latvia. The US, who won their last world title back in 1960, will open the knockout round action against 2010 world champions Czech Republic. In the last game of Group A, the Czech Republic beat France in a wild contest that saw Jan Kolar scoring the game-winning 5-4 goal in overtime to avoid Russia in the last eight. “With the US, maybe it’s a better start off to the play-offs than the Russians, with Malkin, (Alexander) Ovechkin, and their other big stars,” said Czech defender Ondrej Nemec who is playing in the Russian-based Continental Hockey League KHL.