Memorable, snowy Canada-USA game steals the show on Day 4 of WJC

USA came out on top after a shootout with Canada in the first ever outdoor game of the IIHF World Junior Championship.

While the Russians brushed past Belarus at the WJC, the story from Day 4 of the tournament was the snowy outdoor game between rivals Canada and USA, which was won after a wild come back in wintry conditions.

Here are our takeaways as we inch closer to the medal round in Buffalo.

USA 4, CANADA 3 (SO)

• After Canada won its first game of the tournament against Finland, the troubling takeaway was the amount of penalties the team took. Canada gave the Finns six man advantages on Boxing Day, and though the Red and White escaped with a regulation victory, the lack of discipline couldn’t continue as the competition got harder.

There was a marked improvement against Slovakia in the one-sided affair, but when the Canadians were tested again in a heated game with the Americans they failed to keep their composure.

The Americans’ first goal of the game was a power-play marker that came on a five-on-three advantage and their second was another power-play conversion after Maxime Comtois dangerously boarded Ryan Lindgren in a perilous area of the ice, for which he was lucky to only receive a two-minute minor.

Canada plays Denmark next, a team that has been outscored 13-1 through two games, so there shouldn’t be much need or desire to play over the edge. But as Canada moves into the single-elimination medal round, these lapses could come back to haunt the gold-medal hopefuls.

• Casey Mittelstadt has used the WJC to offer his own sort of breakout performance in front of Sabres fans who will be rooting for him on NHL ice in the near future.

The eighth-overall pick from last summer’s draft had three goals coming into the outdoor game, including an incredible one against the Slovaks on Thursday in what turned out to be a losing effort. Mittelstadt, a native of Edina, Minn., who grew up with his own backyard rink, thrived in the snowy conditions on Friday and posted three assists to take the tournament’s scoring lead.

Though the Americans won in a thrilling shootout conclusion, Mittelstadt almost ended the game earlier on a few occasions. Notably, he sent in defenceman Adam Fox for an open chance as the overtime seconds ran low, and then had Carter Hart beat in the shootout, but shoveled the puck off the side of the net through the beat-up ice.

In a couple of instances, the dazzling moves he made with the puck drew “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd.

Mittelstadt has been awarded with two “player of the game” honours already, and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down.

• Canada hasn’t had a steady stream of ace goaltenders through the WJC in recent years, but at this rate Carter Hart’s performance will be a memorable one.

Hart came into the tournament with a .978 save percentage over his last 12 games in the WHL before leaving to join Team Canada and is 30 percentage points higher than the second-place goalie in that stat on the season. A second-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2016, Hart was the WHL’s goalie of the year last season and has looked even better this year — the calmness and strength he uses to move about the crease is a flash of Carey Price.

He’s come a long way from last year’s tournament, where Hart played four games and struggled to keep his save percentage above .900. He wasn’t a strength on last year’s team, but has been a rock through two starts in the 2018 WJC. He allowed three regulation goals in Friday’s loss to the Americans, but faced a heavy workload in unusual conditions and managed to make 33 saves.

The relentless snow makes it hard to evaluate a player or a team with any depth, but if Canada got an average performance from its netminder in this game it would have lost in regulation and had a tougher road to first in Group A.

• The New York Islanders have broken into playoff contention in the NHL largely because of Mathew Barzal’s rise as a high-end, playmaking No. 2 centre alongside goal-scoring specialist Jordan Eberle. Just as we’ll excuse Sabres fans from getting excited at the prospect of an Eichel-Mittelstadt combo in years to come, we’ll be fine if Islanders fans want to project their roster out a few years (with John Tavares, of course) and envisioning Kieffer Bellows alongside someone who can dish the puck as well as Barzal.

That’s because Bellows’ shot, one of the best on a Team USA loaded with first-round talents, has shone in this WJC. He scored another regulation marker against Canada to get the Americans on the board, and added the game-winner in the shootout with a quick flick of the wrists.

• The first outdoor game in WJC history didn’t come with ideal ice conditions, as near-constant snowfall from beginning to end slowed the pace and forced stoppages so the surface could be cleared. But it did result in a game no one will soon forget.

With areas of New Era Field covered off and the NFL-sized capacity trimmed down, a WJC record 44,592 were in attendance to see the wild game. Not everyone was there from the start, though, as a truck that caught on fire on the Canadian side of the border made crossing into Buffalo an extra-long nightmare for some making the day trip to the stadium.

But as the game went on, the crowd got louder and dove head-first into the unique, snowy setting.

• Both Canada and the USA have one game left in the preliminary round, with Canada only needing a regulation win against Denmark to clinch top spot in Group A. The Americans have a day off on Saturday before meeting Finland on Sunday in a game that could have interesting consequences. Since Slovakia upset the Americans they are now part of the medal round equation, so the loser of USA-Finland could end up playing either Russia or Sweden in the first game of the medal round as a third- or fourth-place finisher.

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RUSSIA 5, BELARUS 2

• The Russians came into the 2018 WJC with two special underage talents: 18-year-old Klim Kostin and 17-year-old, draft-eligible Andrei Svechnikov. As a team that normally relies on its 19-year-olds at this event, how often would they turn to this pair that has unlimited offensive upside?

In Friday’s big win, which put Belarus on the precipice of playing in the relegation round, Kostin was Russia’s most noticeable star. His first goal came on a beautiful give-and-go from the corner with Svechnikov, while his second came on a powerful individual effort, in which he faked a drop pass to Svechnikov.

Kostin, a six-foot-three, 196-pound sniping power forward saw his draft stock drop all last year after he sustained an injury that shortened his season in December and forced him to miss the 2017 WJC. Kostin came immediately to North America after being drafted to the NHL and has 11 points in 26 games as the second-youngest player in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage.

The big Russian was the first-overall pick in the CHL Import Draft in 2016, so his high-end skill has been recognized by teams before. If he’s able to stay healthy the Blues could be getting a steal with such a late first-rounder.

• Belarus still has a game left and needs to get a win to avoid the relegation round. The problem is their best chance of avoiding that fate was to beat Switzerland, who they lost 3-2 against.

The Czechs, who upset the Russians 5-4 on Boxing Day, will not provide an easy test for them. If there’s any hope for an upset that may help Belarus avoid the relegation round, they will need another big game from Andrei Grischenko.

The 18-year-old, undrafted goalie was excellent against the Russians despite the loss. He faced 47 shots (Belarus got just 13 shots on Russia) and moved quickly and confidently in his crease, making many fantastic and flexible saves.

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