Russia rebounds, complicates North America's medal path in World Cup of Hockey

TORONTO – The North America 23-and-under team’s spunk, skill and speed wasn’t enough to overcome a Russian hockey pride that dates back to well before the North American players were born.

Smarting from a 2-1 loss to Sweden on Sunday, the Russians brought the tournament’s youngest and most intriguing team back down to earth with a 4-3 win in pool play at the World Cup of Hockey.

“Obviously we knew we can’t lose the game,” Russian forward Alex Ovechkin said. “If we lose the game, we’re out of the tournament with back-to-back losses. (But) you could see everybody sacrificing and we get the result.”

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was the Russian hero, making 43 saves, including a breakaway stop on Connor McDavid in the opening minute of the second period that prevented the North Americans from taking a 2-0 lead. It was the turning point of the game.

“Every moment, every shot, I was focused,” Bobrovsky said, “and that was the most important shot of my life.”

Bobrovsky made a handful of important saves in the closing minutes when the North Americans pushed aggressively for the tying goal. “Bobrovsky was unbelievable,” Ovechkin said.

The game’s outcome makes the path to the semifinals more difficult for North America. If Finland upsets Sweden on Tuesday (3 p.m, ET, ESPN), every team in that pool would own a 1-1 record. Whatever happens Tuesday, the North Americans will need to beat Sweden on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals.

The North Americans played against the Russians without top defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who has an upper body injury. His status for the next game is unknown.

“We lost our way a little in the second period (against Russia),” North America coach Todd McLellan said. “We couldn’t kill the momentum. It’s a good sign for is that were able to regroup, claw back into the game and have a chance at the end.”

The Russians played poorly in the 2014 Olympics in Russia, and they need a quality performance in this best-on-best tournament to win back respect in the international hockey world. The Russians have a long history of being a formidable hockey country, and yet their performances have been inconsistent in recent years.

“At the halfway point in the game, we got away from our game plan and that’s when they hit their stride,” North American defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “We were happy with the way we came out and happy with the way we battled at the end, but there is a middle in there when they took it to us.”

The dynamic Russian offense struck for four goals by Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko in a span of 6:14 to chase North American starting goalie Matt Murray.

"We just gave them way too much space,” Murray said “I thought we might have sat back a little bit. When you sit back against a team like that they're going to come at you a hundred miles per hour and it's not easy to defend.”

The Russians played as if this tournament is heavily important to them. They’ve shown considerable intensity in their first two games.

“If we lose that game, I would feel bad and it would be hard to call my parents, my family because they want to win” Kuznetsov said. “We had to do something.”

The high-energy North American team is the tournament’s fastest team, but coach Todd McLellan thought his team looked hesitant against the Russians.

“We looked slow, and that’s not the way we play,” McLellan said. “Slow reading, slow reacting, and slow to the scoreboard, I guess. Took us a while.”

BEST OF THE WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY: