Canada, Europe Advance to World Cup Final (9-26)

Canada, Europe Advance to World Cup Final

         The matchup is set for the final round of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Team Canada, the favorite to win the tournament, got into the final by beating Russia 5-3 on Saturday. Team Europe, meanwhile, continued their improbable run to the finals by edging Sweden 3-2 in a surprise overtime win on Sunday.

         First, let’s recap Canada’s win over Russia. Sidney Crosby opened the scoring at 7:40 when he stole the puck from Russian defender Dmitri Kulikov and expertly stickhandled around the prone goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The Canadians held a slim 1-0 lead entering the 2^nd period, but at 8:47 of the middle frame, Nikita Kucherov sniped a shot past goaltender Carey Price to tie the game.

         At 16:24, Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was stationed in front of the net, hit the puck out of midair to give Russia the lead. The Russian lead would be brief, as Crosby would give Brad Marchand a perfect feed in the slot to once again tie the game at 17:36. This game was gearing up for an exciting finish when it entered the 3^rd tied at 2. However, Canada quickly regained the lead when Marchand struck again, shooting the puck under Bobrovsky’s glove at 1:16.

         With goals from Corey Perry and John Tavares in the first half of the period, Canada was beginning to run away with the lead. Down 5-2, Russia’s chances of advancing were getting smaller with each passing minute. Soon, it was clear that Russia didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to mount a comeback. Artemi Panarin scored off a rebound with 9 seconds remaining, but the goal came too late to make any difference in the outcome.

         In Europe’s game against Sweden, Nicklas Backstrom would break the ice after a scoreless 1^st period when he put Anton Stralman’s rebound past Jaroslav Halak at 2:31 of the 2^nd. At 16:27, Marian Gaborik received a centering pass from Christian Ehrhoff that somehow found its way past Henrik Lundqvist to tie it. Slovakia’s Tomas Tatar gave Europe an early lead in the 3^rd period when he got his own rebound and punched it past Lundqvist only 12 seconds in.

         Europe attempted to carry their 1-goal lead all the way to the end of the game, but Erik Karlsson made sure that didn’t happen. His rocket of a shot deflected off of Roman Josi’s stick and into the back of the net at 15:28 to send the game to overtime. Tomas Tatar would again score a big goal when he ended it just 3:43 into overtime. The goal bounced in off his skate, but there was no kicking motion, so it counted.

         Team Europe enjoyed a jubilant celebration not just of their win, but of what they’ve been able to accomplish on this incredible world cup run. They now face the tough challenge of upsetting the powerhouse team Canada, a seemingly impossible feat. Game 1 of the final series between the two is tomorrow night at 8 PM.