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2010 Olympic Performance: 6th (L) 7-3, Canada - Quarterfinals
Winnipeg Jets' representation: none
Players to Watch: Pavel Datsyuk (C), Ilya Kovalchuk (LW), Evgeni Malkin (C), Alex Ovechkin (LW)
Tournament Dark Horse: Alexander Radulov (RW)
Schedule
| DATE | TIME | EVENT |
| February 13, 2014 | 6:30AM | RUS vs. SLO |
| February 15, 2014 | 6:30AM | USA vs. RUS |
| February 16, 2014 | 6:30AM | RUS vs. SVK |
Roster
| NAME | POSITION | AGE | LEAGUE | TEAM |
| Artyom Anisimov | C | 25 | NHL | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Pavel Datsyuk "C" | C | 35 | NHL | Detroit Red Wings |
| Ilya Kovalchuk | LW | 30 | KHL | SKA St. Petersburg |
| Nikolai Kulyomin | RW | 27 | NHL | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Yevgeni Malkin | C | 27 | NHL | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Valeri Nichushkin | LW | 18 | NHL | Dallas Stars |
| Alexander Ovechkin | RW/LW | 28 | NHL | Washington Capitals |
| Alexander Popov | C | 33 | KHL | Avangard Omsk |
| Alexander Radulov | RW | 27 | KHL | CSKA Moscow |
| Alexander Svitov | C | 31 | KHL | Ak Bars Kazan |
| Alexander Syomin | RW | 29 | NHL | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | RW | 22 | NHL | St. Louis Blues |
| Viktor Tikhonov | C/RW | 25 | KHL | SKA St. Petersburg |
| Anton Belov | D | 27 | NHL | Edmonton Oilers |
| Andrei Markov | D | 35 | NHL | Montreal Canadiens |
| Yevgeni Medvedev | D | 31 | KHL | Ak Bars Kazan |
| Nikita Nikitin | D | 27 | NHL | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Ilya Nikulin | D | 31 | KHL | Ak Bars Kazan |
| Fyodor Tyutin | D | 30 | NHL | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Vyacheslav Voinov | D | 24 | NHL | Los Angeles Kings |
| Alexei Yemelin | D | 27 | NHL | Montreal Canadiens |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | G | 25 | NHL | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Semyon Varlamov | G | 25 | NHL | Colorado Avalanche |
| Alexander Yeryomenko | G | 33 | KHL | Dynamo Moscow |
Injuries
| STATUS | PLAYER | Professional Team |
| IN | Alexander Semin | Carolina Hurricanes |
| OUT | Sergei Soin | Moscow Dynamo (KHL) |
| IN | Alexander Svitov | Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) |
| OUT | Dmitri Kokarev | Moscow Dynamo (KHL) |
Strengths
Pure goal scorers: Since I was but a snot-nosed kid, I have always loved watching Russia play in international events, and more specifically at the Olympics. Why? Well, their bevy of offensive talent of course. Not many countries can rival the scoring output generated from the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. Platooning that trio will be the equally deadly Alexander Semin, Alexander Radulov and Nikolai Kulemin. And then you still have Dallas Stars rookie Valeri Nichushkin in the mix. An abundance of ridiculously elite players have always been the staple of the Russian Federations program, even after the dissolve of the Soviet Union. Yet again, it's up to their gifted forwards to get the job done.
Mature blue-liners: The Russians boast a defensive corps that features plenty of veteran leadership, particularly in Andrei Markov and Fedor Tyutin. Ilya Nikulin is among Ak Bars Kazan's point leaders and will have familiarity playing with teammate Evgeny Medvedev. Rounding out the back-end will be Slava Voynov and Alexei Emelin who offer a blend of skill and brute physicality.
Weaknesses
One-legged Datsyuk: An interesting tidbit about Pavel Datsyuk was brought up in Elliotte Freidman's 30 Thoughts last week. As it turns out, the Russian centre was left learned a lot from teammate Steve Yzerman who in 2002 won both an Olympic gold medal and Stanley Cup championship on one good leg. Fast forward twelve years and Datsyuk will try to accomplish the same feat. Named Russian's team captain, heavy expectations will be placed on Datsyuk to bring home the gold, but will he have enough in the tank to accomplish such a daunting task?
Living up to the pressure: Much like the Canadians men's team during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, an insane amount of pressure is being placed on Russia to capture the gold medal on their home soil. Sidney Crosby ensured that his Canada lived up to the hype four years ago but can Alex Ovechkin and his cohorts do the same?
