NO RIVALRY LIKE CANADA-RUSSIA
When Mike Babcock was just a wee lad growing up in Manitoba in 1972, he learned of Paul Henderson’s historic Summit Series goal from listening to the excited staff members at his school crow on and on about it.
While that’s all well and good, would it not have been much easier to have just watched Henderson’s heroics against the Soviets himself? Truth be told, he couldn’t. “We didn’t have a TV in those days. The teachers did,” Babcock replied on Tuesday. “I remember hearing all about it and what a wonderful thing it was. It made me follow it through the years.”
Babcock, of course, is referring to the Canada-Russia rivalry. And even though the hockey power once dubbed The Big Red Machine in the days of the Soviet Union has fallen on hard times recently, Babcock admits some of the moments produced in these head-to-head clashes over the decades have been “incredible.”
Look, in no way are we comparing Henderson’s feat — one of the most influential moments in the history of the sport — to the exhibition game between Canada and Russia at the Consol Energy Center on Wednesday, the final test for both teams before the World Cup of Hockey officially faces off on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre. That would be ridiculous, to say the least.
At the same time, meaningless as some might consider Team Canada’s final exhibition tune-up to be, those taking part admit there is still something special when these two countries do battle.
Much has changed since that magical moment in Moscow 44 years ago. The Soviet Union is no more, with the country of Russia now carrying the torch. And it certainly has been flickering in recent years, especially against Canada, who beat the Russians 7-3 in the quarter-finals of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Four years later, while playing on home soil in Sochi, the Russians were eliminated in the quarters by Finland while Canada was en route to winning its second consecutive Olympic gold medal.
“Going to Sochi was special, but playing the Russians in Vancouver was special too,” said Babcock, who is back as Team Canada’s coach after gold-medal victories in the past two Winter Games. “It was fun.”
None of the Team Canada players were even close to being born when Henderson scored the Goal Heard ’Round Canada. And those who were around for Mario Lemieux’s dramatic winner against the Soviets at the electrifying 1987 Canada Cup were most likely too young to appreciate the feat.
Nevertheless, almost to a man, they are keenly aware of those snapshots in time that endure as some of the most iconic performances in Canadian hockey. In hockey-crazed Canada, you just don’t forget events like that.
“It’s an old rivalry,” Canadian goalie Carey Price said. “I’ve watched plenty of great games between our two countries. We’re both very proud hockey countries. We both produce a lot of talent. I feel especially this year, the teams are so closely matched, it’s a really good showcase for the talent coming out of both of the countries.
“It’s hockey history. Every hockey player has some perception of that history. I know myself, I know pretty much every Canadian kid has heard something about the Summit Series. We have two very proud hockey countries; we’re both very proud of our teams.”
One unique sidebar to Wednesday’s clash will be the head-tohead matchup between Penguins teammates Sidney Crosby, Team Canada’s captain, and Russian centre Evgeni Malkin.
That the two members of the Stanley Cup champion Pens will be meeting on home ice in Pittsburgh only adds to the juicy storyline.
“Internationally, we haven’t really played against each other line against line a ton, so we haven’t gone against each other head-to-head,” Crosby said. “It hasn’t really happened too much.
“It’s still Canada-Russia and I think we both understand how big that is. There’s a lot of expectations on both countries when it comes to hockey. I think we can both relate to that a lot and appreciate that but I think once we go out there it’s competitive. It’s healthy competition.
“We are both trying to do our best to help our team win.”
Paul Henderson could not have said it any better.