Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
NHL
World Cup of Hockey

Canada pulls away from Russia to reach World Cup of Hockey final

Kevin Allen
USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO — No one gave a rousing speech or developed a new strategy when Canada found itself tied 2-2 after two periods of a semifinal game against Russia.

Canada celebrates Sidney Crosby's first-period goal.

What makes this Canadian team dominant is not only skill, but also the players’ understanding of what needs to be done before anybody tells them.

"I just said, 'Steady on the rudder,' " Canadian coach Mike Babcock said. "We are doing things right."

Babcock believed his team owned an overwhelming territorial advantage, and the splendid play of Russian goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was all that was keeping the Russians in the game. He had 31 saves in the first 40 minutes.

"There’s no chance they can keep up if we keep doing what we're doing," Babcock remembered telling his team. "And that proved to be true."

Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba requests trade

The Canadians received goals from Brad Marchand and Corey Perry in the first six minutes of the third period and that put them on course to down Russia 5-3 and earn a spot in the best-of-three World Cup of Hockey final against either Sweden or Europe. Those teams play in the other semifinal Sunday (1 p.m., ET, ESPN).

Sidney Crosby produced a goal and two assists, and Marchand netted a pair of goals to lead the Canadians. The Russians held a 2-1 lead in the second period, but Marchand’s first goal, with 2:24 left in the second, robbed the Russians of their momentum.

What was more important than Canada’s offensive might was the job defensemen Shea Weber and Marc-Edouard Vlasic did shutting down Russian star Alex Ovechin and his linemates Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko. Ovechkin, the most dangerous scorer of this generation, only managed one shot on goal.

"It’s time and space," Vlasic said. "Against those three guys, (Ovechkin's) line especially, time and space, just be in their face. As soon as they get (the puck) if you're there, or your stick is there, it doesn't necessarily frustrate guys, but he can't make his plays."

Weber said he took pride in the challenge of stopping Ovechkin.

Penguins' Matt Murray breaks hand at World Cup, out three to six weeks

"He’s a guy who can score at will," Weber said. "He scores 50 goals a year in the NHL. He’s a dangerous player. Any chance you get to play against a guy like that and shut him down, you take pride in that side of the game."

The Canadians always do the best job of checking Ovechkin in international play.

"Maybe he doesn’t have enough luck," said Russian coach Oleg Znarok. "We are very content with his game."

Ovechkin said he gave the tournament all he had.

"Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you score goals or not," Ovechkin said. "You just have to play hard. I tried to play my hardest. Everybody was on the same page, playing the same system."

But the Canadians are playing at a higher level than other teams in the tournament. They have outscored opponents 19-6 while racking up four consecutive wins. They have been business-like, highly efficient of doing what needs to be done to be a force.

Girardi, Staal among Rangers with much to prove

"I think everyone in the room has been through situations like this before and they’re comfortable, whether it’s saying something or not saying something," Marchand said. "I think everyone’s able to focus and control their own game."

It’s as if the Canadians are on an assembly line, and everyone understands that if everyone does his job, the product will be first-rate. The Canadians have looked invincible in this tournament.

Neither Sweden nor Europe would seem to have enough ability to derail the Canadians, particularly in a best-of-three series. You might win one game from Canada, but winning two seems unlikely.

How do you beat the Canadians?

"Don’t be afraid to play against them," Ovechkin said. "We play against those players in the NHL. You (have to) play smart and don’t make mistakes. (We) made them obviously. You can see on the first goal, we (lost) the puck and the puck goes on Crosby’s stick on a breakaway. Second goal is a bad bounce off of Kuzy’s stick. You can talk about luck, but you can’t make those mistakes. They have skill, talent, confidence and experience."

Follow Kevin Allen on Twitter @ByKevinAllen.

Featured Weekly Ad