Nobody thought it would win more than a game.
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The first few minutes of the game were a bit of a feeling out process, until Russian Federation got themselves a power play after a hooking call against Jay Bouwmeester. Team Canada went a flawless 3-0-0 in round-robin play, trailing in a game for only 89 seconds, outscoring the opposition 14-3 and running its best-on-best winning streak to 13 games going back to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The number of highlight-reel saves he made throughout the game made it look like he could steal this one for the Russians, especially after they went up 2-1 in the second period. “We do have the talent to make teams pay when they make mistakes”.
Marchand, who plays for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, had a crack at a hat trick in the final seconds of the game but his shot at an empty net just missed to the left. But their first shot of the period came 10 minutes in on a two-on-one, and while Nikita Kucherov’s shot was lovely, a big contributing factor to that goal had to be Carey Price’s long period of inactivity.
Carey Price was up to some of his usual sneaky antics in the game, and it was glorious.
Ultimately, Canada’s overwhelming pressure became too much for the Russians and Bobrovsky to keep at bay. Chance after chance went their way, but whether it was the post or Bobrovsky, they were thwarted.
Evgeny Kuznetsov managed to bang in a rebound during a scramble in front of Price, and just like that the Russians had the lead despite being outshot 30-12.
Marchand broke a 2-2 tie with a goal just 76 seconds into the third period on an assist from Crosby and just 20 seconds after Bobrovsky had robbed him with a glove save.
An entire month’s work, and the hopes of a nation, were at stake in the third period Saturday night.
Crosby staked the Canadians to a 1-0 lead at 7:40 of the opening period with an outstanding individual effort. Against the tight-checking Swedes, Europe waited them out in a scoreless first period and then gave up the first goal early in the second period, an easy rebounder to Niklas Backstrom off goaltender Jaroslav Halak at 2:31. “To get that one back pretty quickly going into the third. was nice to get”.
Tavares and linemates, Ryan Getzlaf and Steven Stamkos, were punishing over the first two periods, but among those thrwarted by Bobrovsky.
Marchand then scored back-to-back and Perry and Tavares padded Canada’s lead to 5-2.
After dominating hockey for much of the Soviet era, save for a few hiccups in 1972 and 1980, Russian Federation is still seeking its first best-on-best title since the 1981 Canada Cup. Team Canada center Jonathan Toews (16) gets hit by Team Russia forward Alex Ovechkin (8) during the first period of a World Cup of Hockey semifinal game, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 in Toronto. The World Cup will be decided by a best-of-three series starting Tuesday in Toronto.
It’s because you are Sidney Crosby. They’re a feel-good story in the same way that Cocoon was, since their average age is close to that of Jessica Tandy’s. “He always makes big plays in big games”. “I worked hard, I gave everything I had”. They may want to consider using him more moving forward.
The goal was allowed because Tatar did not intentionally kick the puck past Lundqvist. He wasn’t letting in any stinkers, so there wasn’t much to legitimately criticize at all.
After limiting Team Europe to just five shots in the first period – and at one point denying a shot on goal for nearly 12 minutes and then scoring early in the second to take a 1-0 lead – perhaps the Swedes believed the game would simply come to them, that victory and a rematch of the Sochi Olympics gold-medal game against Canada was inevitable.
Afterward, it was Canada’s poise that was a major talking point among players and coaches. They had 75 attempts to Russia’s 55.
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This tournament, Canada has been a dominant force.
