Sweden
Hangs on to Beat Russia
Sweden only scored twice in their first
game of the tournament, but it was enough to beat rival Russia. With superstar
goaltender Henrik Lundqvist out because of an illness, Jacob Markstrom was
called upon two-and-a-half hours before the game to get the job done. Markstrom
performed admirably, and was only 33 seconds away from posting his first
international shutout when he was scored on by Alexander Ovechkin. Regardless,
it was enough for a win thanks to his heroic effort.
After a fast-paced, yet scoreless 1st,
Sweden finally got on the board midway through the game when Gabriel Landeskog
blasted a shot past Bobrovsky for a power play goal at 10:41 of the 2nd
period. Not long after, the speedy Carl Hagelin slid a pass to Victor Hedman in
the faceoff circle. Hedman’s perfectly placed shot tickled the twine at 12:52 to
make it 2-0 for the Swedes. They had scored 2 goals on 3 shots in a span of
2:11.
In the 3rd, it became clear that
the Russians weren’t ready to lose. Though they had some good scoring chances,
they didn’t make a big push until the last minute with the goalie pulled.
Alexander Ovechkin used his familiar quick and ever-so-accurate shot on the
one-timer to fling the puck past Markstrom with 33 seconds remaining. With 6
seconds to go, it appeared Russia had tied it, but Ovechkin’s glove was the
last thing the puck touched before entering the net. Because it was knocked in
with the glove, the goal was called back, much to the disappointment of
Ovechkin and his fellow Russians.
Though Sweden just barely grabbed
victory, a win is a win no matter what, and they were certainly happy about it.
But they know the tournament is far from over, and they will have to prove
themselves on Tuesday afternoon against their bitter Scandinavian rival
Finland. And speaking of Finland, they also played yesterday, but didn’t have
as much success.
North
America Easily Handles Finland
The young and fast team North America wasn’t
afraid to show everyone that they shouldn’t be counted out by any means. Though
young and inexperienced, I feel they have enough speed and talent to even beat
top teams like Canada. Last night’s game against Finland just goes to show what
they are capable of, and how much potential they have.
North America got off to an early lead
on the power play when Jack Eichel poked home a rebound at 5:03. Late in the period,
it looked like a 2-0 North America lead after the puck went in off a net mouth
scramble. It was determined, however, that Finnish goaltender Pekka Rinne was
interfered with, so the goal didn’t count.
North America would extend their lead
for real at 5:27 of the 2nd when Johnny Gaudreau tipped Colton
Parayko’s shot into the net for a 2-0 lead. Johnathan Drouin made it 3-0 when
he slid a huge rebound past the outstretched Rinne at 7:27. At 14:37, North
America went up 4-0 when Nathan Mackinnon put in another rebound as the result
of a turnover in the Finnish zone.
With 4:07 remaining in the game, Finland
finally got on the scoreboard when the puck came out front for Valterri Filppula
to put past Matt Murray to break his shutout bid. The goal was a result of Leo
Komarov’s hard work in the corner off of a dump in. North America got off to a
flying start in the tournament and hope to continue their success. Finland will
have a go at their bitter Scandinavian rivals the Swedes tomorrow afternoon in
the hopes of turning their tournament around.
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