End of Overtime, Canada Wins 2-1: We have a winner. Doughty has scored his second goal of the game and his fourth of the tournament. Jeff Carter skated through the neutral zone and passed to the left to Doughty, who skated toward Rask and fired a wrist shot through traffic that trickled over the goal line.
Canada will play the winner of Switzerland-Latvia in the quarterfinals, while Finland will play the winner of Russia-Norway in the quarterfinals.
Overtime, 0:31, 1-1: Price is forced to make a quality blocker save through traffic in the opening minute of overtime. At the other end of the ice, Finland’s Lasse Kukkonen drilled Benn into the end boards behind Rask with a lot of force from behind but no penalty was called.
Overtime, 0:01, 1-1: We’re back to live action.
End of Third Period, 1-1
We are headed to overtime. There will be a five-minute 4-on-4 period, and if no team scores, a shootout will determine a winner.
Here’s an update on Team USA.
[tweet https://twitter.com/MarkLazerus/status/435129346060451840 align=”center”]
Third Period, 19:22, 1-1: Rask makes a tremendous left-pad save on a Doughty shot from the point and Corey Perry couldn’t jam home the rebound at the top of the crease. Seconds later, Canadian defenseman Marc-Eduoard Vlasic fired a slap shot at the left faceoff circle about 10 feey away from Rask but missed the net. It was a glorious scoring chance.
Third Period, 18:00, 1-1:
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Third Period, 16:57, 1-1: Pietrangelo fires a shot from the right point toward Rask with Patrick Marleau setting a screen at the top of the crease, but the Finland goalie makes the stop. The puck skipped along the ice, making it difficult for Rask to judge, but he was in the right position to make a save.
Third Period, 16:00, 1-1: Neither team is able to create scoring chances in the middle of the ice. Everything is to the outside, which is allowing goaltenders to read the puck quickly and make a save.
Third Period, 13:00, 1-1: Toews got a shot off from a few feet away from Rask but the Finnish goaltender makes a great pad save. Finland then cleared the puck out of the zone.
The Fins appear to be playing not to lose. They seem more than willing to let Canada dominate possession and use their speed to counter attack.
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Third Period, 10:10, 1-1: Teams have traded scoring chances as we reach the midway point of the period. It will be interesting to see how long Canada head coach Mike Babcock stays with Benn and Bergeron on Crosby’s line because this trio hasn’t generated much offense so far.
Third Period, 0:01, 1-1: We’re underway in Sochi.
End of Second Period, 1-1
Ruutu’s goal really energized the Fins. They created three more scoring chances after the goal and were arriving first to loose pucks and generating lots of attacking-zone pressure. We should have a fantastic third period.
Here’s a replay of Ruutu’s goal, the only one scored by either team in the second period.
Second Period, 18:05, 1-1: We have a tie game!
Tuomo Ruutu redirected a Jussi Jokinen shot from the point past Price to put Finland on the board. The play started with good puck possession in the attacking zone as the Fins cycled the puck well.
Second Period, 14:47, Canada 1-0: Carter forces a turnover at his defensive blue line and goes around Maatta like he was standing along the boards, but the Canadian forward shot the puck wide of Rask as he crashed the net. It was Canada’s best scoring chance of the period.
Second Period, 12:23, Canada 1-0: The pace of this game is fast but it’s lacking excitement. Neither team is creating quality scoring chances consistently and Finland hasn’t registered a shot on goal in several minutes. Canada is keeping them to the outside and forcing the Fins to win puck battles along the end boards, where the Canadians have a size and strength advantage.
Despite getting dominated in all three zones so far, Finland is only trailing 1-0.
Second Period, 7:56, Canada 1-0: A strong forecheck by Nash, Jeff Carter and Patrick Sharp creates a good scoring chance for Canadian defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, but he shoots the puck into Rask’s chest.
[tweet https://twitter.com/MarkLazerus/status/435113535543447553 align=”center”]
Second Period, 6:06, Canada 1-0: The Canadians are spending most of this period in the attacking zone, but it’s been difficult to get pucks on Rask because Finland is doing a great job clogging shooting lanes and blocking shots. In their own zone, the Canadians are keeping everything to the outside, and as a result, Price has rarely been tested through a period and a half.
Second Period, 1:01, Canada 1-0: Doughty scored Canada’s goal in the first period.
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Second Period, 0:01, Canada 1-0: The second period is underway.
First Intermission, Canada 1-0
Quick update on the qualification round matchups:
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First Intermission, Canada 1-0
Here’s a replay of Doughty’s goal. Crosby and Weber were credited with assists. Canada has an 8-4 shot advantage.
End of First Period, Canada 1-0
First period, 18:17, Canada 1-0: Finland is getting its first power play of the game. Finnish defenseman Olli Maatta took a high stick from Nash.
First period, 17:08, Canada 1-0: Here’s the Selanne-Crosby confrontation mentioned earlier. It’s likely Selanne was accusing Crosby of diving to draw an interference penalty. Canada scored on the power play shortly after.
First period, 17:08, Canada 1-0: Canadian defenseman Jay Bouwmeester fired a shot off the end boards and Jonathan Toews attempted a wrap-around shot but couldn’t get the puck across the goal line as Rask smothered it with his glove. The play is now under review.
First period, 15:48, Canada 1-0: Here’s a replay of Nash’s goal that was taken away.
First period, 15:48, Canada 1-0: A turnover by Finland in its own zone sets up a Grade A scoring chance for Chris Kunitz, but the Canadian winger was robbed by Rask’s glove in the save of the game so far.
First period, 13:47, Canada 1-0: Drew Doughty has given Canada a lead with a power-play goal. It’s his third goal of the tournament.
The L.A. kings defenseman beat Rask high short-side with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle. It was an accurate shot, but one Rask should save, especially since he wasn’t screened.
First period, 13:00, 0-0: Immonen goes to the penalty box for interfering Crosby. Canada gets its first power play. Selanne confronted Crosby right after and appeared to be accusing the Canadian captain of diving to draw a penalty.
First period, 9:15, 0-0: Here’s a GIF of Bergeron taking a shot to the ribs.
First period, 9:15, 0-0:
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Bergeron has returned to the ice.
First Period, 8:03, 0-0: Canada took a 1-0 lead momentarily. A shot from the point was deflected and the puck landed on top of Rask’s net. Canadian winger Rick Nash swung at the puck while it was sitting on top of the cage and knocked the it off Rask and into the net.
The play was reviewed and the referee determined that Nash used a high stick to play the puck.
First Period, 7:58, 0-0: Bergeron takes a slap shot from defenseman Shea Weber in the ribs and skates off the ice in pain. He’s getting some medical attention from the Team Canada trainer.
First Period, 7:00, 0-0: We’ve had a good pace to this game so far. Finland’s roster is built on speed and it’s easy to tell. There have been no whistles through seven minutes.
First Period, 5:00, 0-0: Jarkko Immonen fired a shot toward Price and Teemu Selanne’s deflection sailed just wide past the left post. Canada has generated plenty of offensive zone pressure but it’s tallied zero shots on goal.
Finland is blocking shots and using its quickness to break up passes.
First Period, 0:01, 0-0: We’re underway at the Bolshoy Ice Dome.
12:04 p.m.: [tweet https://twitter.com/Dejan_Kovacevic/status/435097227250663424 align=”center”]
Noon: The most notable lineup change for Canada is Sidney Crosby playing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Jamie Benn on the top line. Crosby has just one assist in two Olympic games in Sochi, but he should be more productive by playing with Canada’s two best wingers of the tournament so far. Veteran forward Martin St. Louis, reigning Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban and goaltender Mike Smith are scratches for the Canadians. Patrick Sharp is back in after being a scratch against Austria.
11:30 a.m.: Here’s a look at possible playoff round seeds depending on the outcome of Sunday’s Finland-Canada game.
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11:00 a.m.: The goalie matchup has become official.
Finland’s Tuukka Rask and Canada’s Carey Price, who both started their team’s first preliminary round game and sat out the second, will start in net Sunday.
Canada also has made some line changes. They are listed below.
Jamie Benn — Sidney Crosby — Patrice Bergeron
Patrick Marleau — Jonathan Toews — Jeff Carter
Matt Duchene — Ryan Getzlaf — Corey Perry
Chris Kunitz — John Tavares — Rick Nash
Scratches: Martin St. Louis (winger) and P.K. Subban (defenseman)
For more on Sunday’s lineups, click here.
9:00 a.m.: The United States and Russia played an instant classic Saturday morning at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and the matchup between Canada and Finland on Sunday has the potential to be just as exciting.
Canada was forced to play an extra game in the playoff round at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver when it lost in the final preliminary stage game against the United States. The Americans got a bye to the quarterfinal and Canada went to the qualification round.
The Canadians will look to avoid that scenario Sunday afternoon by clinching Group B and earning a quarterfinals berth with a win over Finland.
The defending gold medalists are 2-0 with wins over Norway and Austria by a combined score of 9-1, while the Fins have victories over the same teams by a score of 14-5.
Puck drop is scheduled for noon. Check back here for live updates, analysis and highlights of Canada-Finland.
Photo via Twitter.com/BostonDotCom
