Russia beats US 2-1, will face Finland in gold-medal game

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Alex DeBrincat scored in his return to the ice after missing two games with a shoulder injury he suffered against Sweden. Stand-out’s at this year’s tournament include Adrian Kempe, Dmytro Timashov, Oskar Lindblom, and Jens Looke.

Russian Federation will face host Finland for the gold on Tuesday.

Finland deserves credit for its high-octane offense, and underrated defense core. Kaapo Kahkonen made 21 saves for Finland.

The Americans are led by Auston Matthews, who leads the tournament with seven goals. Matthews scored a hat-trick with two goals in the second period and one in the third. Joni Tuulola and Niko Mikkola were defensive studs, while Sami Niku and Villi Saarijarvi proved quality two-way defenders. This year has been no different, with some outstanding individual performances by the United States’ Auston Matthews, the likely top pick in the 2016 National Hockey League draft, and Finland’s Jesse Puljujarvi, among others. The Russians are the only country to have medalled each of the last five years. Experts have given Puljujarvi comparisons to Anaheim’s Corey Perry.

Both TSN and the NHL Network will broadcast both games live. Team USA had five penalties in the first period of that game, dropping into an early 2-0 deficit in which they never recovered. Even without one of their best weapons, William Nylander, the Swedes have been extremely risky offensively, evidenced by their 19 goals through the first round – the second-most among all teams. The Russians would be wise to turn to Samsonov, who has game-stealing abilities. Surprisingly, their defense core is defensively sound.

Up front, points leaders are Igor Korshkov (6), Vladislav Kamenev (5), Maxim Lazarev (5), and Artur Lauta (5).

Kirill Kaprizov didn’t show up on the scoresheet, but he was real impressive. Perhaps the most surprising storyline for Russian Federation is the underwhelming performance of Evgeni Svechnikov.

My hope for Svechnikov in the gold medal game is that he continues to use this setting as a learning tool to prepare himself for turning pro. He stopped five shots by defenseman Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets). The Hurricanes prospect opened the World Juniors by single-handedly stealing the first game against the Canadians. The North Dakota sophomore is coming off his best offensive game with a goal and two assists, which earned him US player of the game honors. It’s not Svechnikov’s fault, he’s playing the way he’s used to and the only way he’ll learn to be better is by playing against better competition. Together with Colin White and Matthew Tkachuk, the Americans top line didn’t scratch the scoresheet.