mo4ch:>Russia v USA: Ice hockey powerhouses in fierce battle for semifinal spot | Mo4ch News

The 2019 IIHF World Championship has reached its climax with playoff stage kicking off this week. Russia v USA is expected to be one of the most thrilling battles among the four quarterfinal ties on Thursday.Russia who finished first in group B will enter the quarterfinal as the favorites, being the sole team at the tournament which hasn’t suffered a defeat.READ MORE: ‘We’re s**t and we know we are!’ British hockey team celebrates historic win at world championshipThe fourth-place finishers in group A, Team USA have lost to Canada and hosts Slovakia and needed an overtime period to steal victory against Finland.The star-studded Russian team which includes NHL aces Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Nikita Kucherov dispatched reigning world champions Sweden 7-4 in the last group stage match, scoring six unanswered goals in the second period.The American squad however, could offer nothing to Canada losing 3-0 to take the last spot and progress to the knockout stage.During seven game…