are the russian hockey team favored in the olympics?
90023
here are the current odds to win the gold in olympic hockey:\n\nCanada 11/10\n \nCzech Republic 5/2\n \nFinland 12/1\n \nGermany 150/1\n \nItaly 300/1\n \nKazakhstan 400/1\n \nLatvia 125/1\n \nRussia 11/2\n \nSlovakia 11/1\n \nSweden 9/2\n \nSwitzerland 65/1\n \nUSA 3/1
646269
Russia is one of my favorite , its obvious that they will be competing for the gold medal at least . I would put Finland on 2 nd place and Belarus on 3rd . Belarus is very strong and potential . So called "dark horse" . You never know what to expect from them , despite recent loss to Sweden . Its because Belarus ruled by dictator like in Soviet Union times . Lukashenko said " You have to get a medal "
112312
The best ranked teams within Canada are invited to a round-robin tournament where they play each other. The best 3 or 4 teams after the series then play down and the team that wins that play-down is then the nation's team for the Olympics.
183941
You've got your facts confused a bit, Ken. The 1980 US Olympic Hockey team never played the NHL All-Stars, but the Soviet team did and thrashed them by a score of 6-0. The US team did, however, play four exhibition games against NHL teams (Minnesota, St. Louis, Atlanta and Washington), losing them all and being outscored by a margin of 24-8. To me, these facts just make the "Miracle on Ice" even that much more of an accomplishment, to say nothing of being perhaps the greatest upset in sports history.
91474
I think the biggest upset in Olympic Hockey was Sweden beating the USA is women's hockey earlier in the week.  Living in MN (home of five of the hockey players) all I ever heard was about how would the US do against Canada once they got to the gold medal game.  The US vs Canada was a predetermined outcome for the Gold Medal and Sweden stopped the US.\n\nToronto is a beautiful place.
271067
Just so Canada wins a few Gold medals. They always win and when they lose, everyone is up in arms ready to run some poor judge back to France then blame the Russians.
336529
The Czech Republic is one of the strongest teams in the current list and they are behind only to the Brazilians.\nWith the likes of Nevdev at his peak and a solid organised defense, my prediction is that they may even go all the way to the final.
223725
I actually think so. They've done some really good moves to bolster the team - the trade for Thornton being paramount. The main reason isn't so much based on the strengths of their own team (even though they showed some stamina against the Preds tonight and got the OT win) as other teams above them in the West right now faultering. I predict Anaheim and Colorado out of the playoffs in 15-16 games time and the Sharks sneaking into that 8th spot.
204955
yes!! not a fan of the canucks, kings, or avalanche out west, but i DO like the sharks.  their goaltender evgani nabokov is one of their players i enjoy watching.  in their gutsy playoff run 3 years ago (or was it 4? darn strike!)  he carried that team on his back as much as he could... just came up a bit short.\n\nother sharks i like past and present are mike ricci and vincent damphousse.  i don't know if they'll make the playoffs this year, but i'm hoping!
615416
Russia is one of my favorite , its obvious that they will be competing for the  gold medal at least . I would put Finland on 2 nd place and Belarus on 3rd . Belarus is very strong and potential . So called "dark horse"  . You never know what to expect from them , despite recent loss to Sweden . Its because Belarus ruled by dictator like in Soviet Union times .  Lukashenko said " You have to get a medal  " .
1155445
They are my favourite and I think they can beat Italy and progress through to quarterfinals I think they can win that and get to semifinals but alas that is as far as I can predict.  Therefore hoping for a plyoff for 3rd place.  Which is way beyond our expectations at the start.\n\nThe Socceroos have already done themselves proud.
794627
First of all, there is no Russian National hockey team anymore. Gone are the CCCP days where the team is kept together for tournament after tournament. They only get together at top level really like all other nations for the Olympics and the World Cup. (Don't give me the World Championships as those are basically B level tournys given the best NHL players are playing n the playoffs at that time).\n\nAnyway, the best Russian hokcey player is Ilya Kovalchuk. He's a winger and plays for the Atlanta Thrashers. He's definitely played for Russia at the 2006 Olys and not sure about the 2004 World Cup.
637156
http://www.ask.com/web?q=What+team+is+Kris+Markovich+skating+for+now%3F&qsrc=0&o=0
455616
If you have to pick one team to win it, then yes. They're definitely the favorite but England, Italy, Germany, Argentina and Holland are all major threats.
442495
One of the best runs in NHL history.\nI've been a loyal Devils fan almost all my life. Now I live here in Anchorage, AK- where the Devils are a local favorite because of Scotty Gomez. Tons of fellow fans around make it really fun to go to the bar and watch them play. Hockey is taken pretty seriously up here. The talk around town is that the Devils have a good enough team to  take The Cup this year. Especially after this recent 12-0 run. My girlfriend is a Avalanche fan, so we plan on watching ALOT of playoff hockey soon.\nLETS GO DEVILS
476867
I'd say their chances are pretty good.  As a Ducks fan I admit that Calgary is out playing Anaheim at every turn... if the Flames advance it's because they've played playoff style hockey at it's best... if Anaheim wins it will likely be the result of a lucky bounce.
82191
Canada are definitely the favourites but they're not playing well. Keep a close eye on Russia, Sweden and Finland. The US team looks very suspect to me. The Czechs actually lost to Switzerland today, amazing! But if you're looking for a dark horse team, it's Slovakia.