14 мая 1996 года. 
`Other' Russians steal limelight: Kravchuk, Khmylev help Blues stymie Wings // The Gazette. Montreal

LARRY SICINSKI. 

Igor Larionov and his four comrades were expected to propel the Detroit Red Wings to their first Stanley Cup in 41 years.

But it's another pair of recently acquired Russians who've put the Wings within a game of becoming the biggest choke artists of the 1996 NHL playoffs.

The work of The Great One notwithstanding, it's Igor Kravchuk and Yuri Khmylev who combined for the goal that gave the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 lead in games going into tonight's crucial game in the Gateway City. Kravchuk also scored the overtime winner in Game 3.

Kravchuk, 29, was acquired by Mike Keenan from the Edmonton Oilers in an exchange of defencemen on Jan. 4. Keenan stole Khmylev, 31, from the Buffalo Sabres for a couple of future draft choices on March 20.

Kravchuk, who played previously for Keenan, is one of eight regulars in the St. Louis lineup with that distinction.

``I guess Mike brings guys back who he knows and really believes in,'' said Kravchuk.

To hear Kravchuk tell it, Keenan has mellowed.

``He's changed a little bit since I played for him in Chicago. He's settled down. He probably doesn't lose his temper as much,'' said the 6-foot-1 defenceman. ``But he's still tough. He's always asking guys to give as much as they can in practice, because you might have a bad game, but you should never have a bad practice.''

When it comes to tough coaches, Kravchuk's had them. All seven Russians, in fact, played for a coach back home who never spared the verbal rod in a game and wasn't shy of administering punishment in practice.

Viktor Tikhonov was their first dictatorial coach who, not unlike Scotty Bowman and Keenan in the NHL, expected nothing less than perfection. Coach of Central Red Army, perennial champions of the former Soviet Elite League, he also coached the Soviet Union National Team to numerous gold medals.

When it comes to comparisons, Tikhonov's methods remain despised by some veteran Russians.

Kravchuk, on the other hand, hesitates at being drawn into comparisons of Keenan and Tikhonov.

``You're talking about two different worlds of hockey - Russian and Canadian - in different political times that make it hard to compare,'' said Kravchuk, who won two Olympic golds under Tikhonov.

``Tikhonov's older and has experience with international hockey; Mike has more experience with the NHL. So it's different that way, too. The only thing they have in common is knowledge of hockey.''