TORONTO — Team North America went out on its shield Monday night, coming just short in a furious comeback that ultimately ended in a 4-3 win for Russia at the World Cup of Hockey.
Four Russian goals in a span of six minutes 14 seconds in a wild second period cost the North Americans, who rallied from 4-1 and were blitzing Russian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in six-on-four play as the game ended.
The 23-and-under North Americans outshot the Russians 46-25 on the night and 19-4 in the third period.
"We lost our way a little bit in the second period. I think that’s stating the obvious," said coach Todd McLellan.
"I thought we looked unsure out there for the first time as a team … (But) I think it’s a good sign for us that we were able to regroup and claw back into the game and have a chance at the end at least," he added.
Auston Matthews scored his first goal at Air Canada Centre in a losing cause as Russia (1-1-0) kept its World Cup hopes alive.
Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Kucherov scored 50 seconds apart for Russia after Matthews put the North America young guns ahead in the first period. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladmir Tarasenko also scored in the second period.
Morgan Rielly scored late in the second for North America (1-1-0), which outshot Russia 18-10 in the period despite being outscored 4-1.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins cut the lead to 4-3 at 3:01 of the third, banging in a mid-air puck during a goal-mouth scramble on the power play. North America kept coming — and shooting.
Down 4-3, North America had a 94-second two-man advantage with some 8 1/2 minutes remaining but failed to convert despite some good pressure. A bench minor for too many men on the ice did not help the North American cause late in the game.
"They tried to bounce back but Bobrovsky was unbelievable," said Russia captain Alex Ovechkin.
Captain Connor McDavid said North America paid the price for slowing down in the second period.
"It ultimately cost us the game … We had the puck all night and we let our guard down for a little bit and that’s what they’re going to do to us," he said. "I’ve played Russia enough times now to know how streaky they are."
The North Americans wrap up group play against Sweden on Wednesday while Russia faces Finland on Thursday. Both teams are still in contentions to advance to the knockout round.
McLellan pulled Matt Murray in favour of John Gibson with 4:17 remaining in the period after the four-goal Russia sure. Murray, who jammed his thumb during the game, faced 19 shots on the night.
"I think we gave up team goals," McLellan said. "It would have been nice to get an extra save, and he (Murray) will probably tell you that … We’ve got real good options (in goal)."
It was an open, free-wheeling affair with plenty of offence.
The North Americans, wearing their distinctive black uniforms with "beacon red" numbers, continued their impressive play. The Russians, needing a win after losing their opener 2-1 to Sweden, seemed happy to play their part in an end-to-end affair.
Matthews opened the scoring with a tap-in at 5:14 of the first period, a goal announcement that Leaf Nation hopes to be hearing for many years to come.
McDavid made the play, using his speed to accelerate past Pavel Datsyuk after defenceman Colton Parayko retrieved the rebound of an Ovechkin shot and sent it up the boards. As McDavid rocketed towards the Russian goal, defenceman Alexei Emelin was caught in the middle and Matthews, arriving at the other side of the net, knocked in a perfect backhand feed as Emelin desperately tried to get a stick in the way.
The normally restrained Matthews, who turned 19 on Saturday, permitted himself a smile after scoring. Within minutes, McDavid to Matthews was trending on Twitter in Canada as word spread of the pretty play between the top picks in the last two NHL drafts.
"It’s always exciting to score, contribute. It was definitely a pretty good feeling," said Matthews. "But in the end we didn’t get the win which is the most important thing."
Russia began to spend some time in the second period in the North American end and Namestnikov scored off a fat Murray rebound of a Ivan Telegin shot at 9:29. Ovechkin then hit the post and Kucherov made it 2-0 with a quick one-timer from near the faceoff dot at 10:19.
Kuznetsov made it 3-1 at 13:37 on a solo end-to-end rush, tucking the puck past Rielly before beating Murray from close-range over the arm. He celebrated with a bird-like arm-flapping move before chirping the North American bench. Tarasenko then beat a screened Murray on a turnaround shot from the top of the faceoff circle at 15:43.
Riley pulled one back at 17:56, firing a shot through traffic after a blocked shot came back to him. And Bobrovsky had to make several good saves while Russia killed off a penalty as the period ended.
North America opened Sunday with a 4-1 win over Finland, befuddling veteran Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne — a three-time finalist for the Vezina Award — with a 43-shot barrage.
Defenceman Aaron Ekblad, who led all Team North America skaters with 23:53 ice time Sunday, sat out Monday’s game with an upper body injury. Winnipeg Jet Jacob Trouba took his place, playing 16:48.
"Losing Aaron was a big hit for our club but gaining Jacob was a real positive one as well," said McLellan.
Team GM Peter Chiarelli and McLellan refused to comment on a report that Ekblad was suffering from concussion-like symptoms, saying only that the defenceman was listed as day-to-day.
Forward Jonathan Drouin had just three shifts in the third period with McLellan saying he had shortened his bench. "He’ll be better the next game," he said.
Dylan Larkin did not see any action in the third.
