It had been a decade since a Russian team had been at the Civic Arena. On Jan. 4, 1986, Moscow Dynamo took on the Penguins.
General manager Eddie Johnston was instrumental in bringing a game to the Igloo. "I wanted this game for Pittsburgh because it gives the fans a chance to see some of the greatest players in the world. And we think it will be good for our hockey club. It exposes them to a different style."
Like 1975, the previews were more about Soviet hockey than the foe in question. Several Penguins who had played against the Soviets in one venue or another talked about their quickness and skill. Jim Johnson, though, told the story of how Vyacheslav Fetisov broke his nose in the USA-USSR game during the 1985 IIHF World Championships.
"I was breaking the puck out of our end, and Fetisov just sucker-punched me," said the Pittsburgh defenseman. "I never saw where it came from.
"I was on the ice, getting my nose packed with cotton, and I looked up and there were five of our guys around Fetisov, stabbing him, jumping on him, punching him, things like that. Both benches unloaded, and it was a big fight. Everybody was going. It was an international incident."
But it would have no effect on the Penguins and Dynamo. "That happened way in the past. I forgot about it."
"I think a lot of guys are really looking forward to playing the Russians," captain Mike Bullard said. "It would look good for our team if we beat them."
Swedish forward Willy Lindstrom was less excited. "I guess a lot of guys are looking forward to playing them, but I really don't. I know how they play, and I've played against them so many times, I think a break would be better than playing against the Russians."
"I don't know if you can look at it as a distraction," rookie center Craig Simpson said. "Maybe a little bit of a break. I think it's a good opportunity for us to just relax, play a good, solid game and hopefully get a chance to come out with the victory."
There was the usual admiration for the Russian style of play. Johnston, who had been with Team Canada in 1972, said, "They showed us how to pass the puck to open ice, to put it in the hole. Anymore, we don't play so much bump and dump."
"They're quick, they're unbelievable," said defenseman Moe Mantha, who had faced the Soviets during the world championships. "They'll make a pass without even looking and it will be right on the guy's stick. They're always skating, moving. Their mobility is unbelievable, how they can turn and pass at the same time."
Lindstrom noted that the Soviets had learned from the North American game. "They always had speed and passed the puck really well. I think they picked up a little roughness and using the stick a little more and hitting more than before."
Mario Lemieux had a cold, which bothered him more than any thought of repeating his two-goal performance in Canada's 3-1 victory over the Soviets at the World Championships.
"It's a different situation now," he said. "I don't want to put some pressure on me by saying I'm going to score two or three goals.
"I'm just going to go out there and work hard... and hopefully get a couple."
A sellout was expected, although a couple thousand tickets remained with two days to go.
"I've got my mom and dad coming in, and I know a lot of guys on the team have their parents coming in," Bullard said. "We know it's probably going to be a full house, and I think they're really looking forward to a good show."
The day before the game, Dynamo practiced at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center. They had finished second to Red Army by one point the previous season, and featured two first-team Soviet All-Stars in goalie Vladimir Myshkin and center Anatoli Semenov. Their captain was defenseman Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, who had played 210 games for the national team.
Their interpreter said, "I pointed out the U.S. Steel Building to one of them and he said, 'Why do you need such a big building when there is no work in steel? '"
He added, "The players don't socialize much but they are free to walk around when they are here. They asked me some questions about Pittsburgh. They wanted to know what movies were playing Downtown. They say, 'Do you have any cowboy movies nearby?' Ten years ago, they wanted porno. Now it's different. They love the cowboys."
Dynamo coach Yuri Moyseyev said of overtime, "In the championships of the U.S.S.R., it is not a common practice and we did not expect to play a fourth period."
"We could have beaten them if there had been overtime," said Lindstrom. "I think that's what they were afraid of."
Denis Herron started in goal for Pittsburgh, which was his first action in more than a month. It took Dynamo all of 27 seconds to beat him, when Sergei Yashin converted a pass from Sergei Svetlov. Herron stoned Svetlov on a backhand attempt 11 minutes later, but center Anatoli Antipov took a pass from left wing Yuri Leonov and scored on a breakaway at 12:20. Lemieux took a pass from Mantha in the left circle and scored at 15:12. The score was 2-1 after one period.
Herron made a couple of big saves during a Dynamo power play early in the second, and Mantha tied it on the power play at 9:14, for the only goal of the period. His shot from the left circle beat Myshkin glove-side.
At 9:18 of the third period, center Mikhail Varnakov put a 20-foot backhand off Herron's right pad to give Dynamo a 3-2 lead. "I made a move," said Herron, "and, believe it or not, I was too fast for him."
Lindstrom scored the tying goal at 17:07 on a pass from Lemieux. When the buzzer sounded, John Barbero announced that there would be a two-minute intermission, then a five-minute overtime. Dynamo disagreed and lined up for postgame handshakes, to the crowd's dismay. "I think it would have been nice for the fans, to put on a show for them," said Lemieux, who ended up with three points.
"He had an excellent game," Moyseyev said of Lemieux. "I think that was rather evident because he scored one goal and had two assists. He is really the leader of the whole team, and they follow him. This is what inspires the whole team, and I saw this right away."
Myshkin made 25 saves, while Herron made 20 in what turned out to be his last appearance with an NHL team. Each side had two power plays.
"Denis played great, just super," Penguin coach Bob Berry said. "He deserves a lot of credit."
Moyseyev was impressed by the Penguin defense. "We were prevented in developing our own style of game because of their close checking."
As in 1975, Pittsburgh dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 50 of 62. "They don't even try to win them," Lemieux said. And Moyseyev admitted, "We don't pay much attention to faceoffs."
It would be another three years before the next Soviet team came in, but that's a story for another time.
(All quotes are from the original newspaper coverage.)
