Team Canada defeats Team Europe to win World Cup

TORONTO -- It was more difficult than many imagined, but Team Canada is champion of the World Cup of Hockey 2016. 

Brad Marchand scored a shorthanded goal with 43.1 seconds left, after Patrice Bergeron tied the game with 2:53 to go, to give Team Canada a 2-1 win against Team Europe at Air Canada Centre on Thursday.

"They were tough to play against and they tested us big time," said Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby, who was named MVP and led the tournament with 10 points. 

Marchand was one of Crosby's wings, and Bergeron was the other. They combined for 25 points in six games. 

"In the biggest moments, they're better," Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said of the line. "They can't help themselves. They're addicted to winning." 

Marchand won this game with his fifth goal of the tournament, but teammate Jonathan Toews did much of the work to make it possible. 

"[Toews] made a great play to open up a lot of space, and when I came in, I just wanted to get a shot on net ... and luckily the puck went in the net," Marchand said. 

Toews said it was all Marchand on the game-winner. 

"It was kind of a momentary thing where you take a chance," Toews said. "I dropped him the puck and he made a [heck] of a play." 

Bergeron scored on a power play with a spectacular deflection to foil a brilliant display by Team Europe goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who made 32 saves. 

"World-class hand-eye coordination," said Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger, discussing the torso-high knockdown of the puck by Bergeron, who was standing between the faceoff circles. 

Canada has won 16 straight games in best-on-best competition. Its last loss was to the United States during pool play at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. 

Defenseman Zdeno Chara scored for Team Europe, but the goal could not get it to the finish line and force Game 3 on Saturday. 

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Team Europe captain Anze Kopitar led all players in distance traveled with 6,460 meters (4.01 miles)

"It's a tough loss because we were able to push them all the way to the limits and it was a really close game," Chara said. 

Team Canada won Game 1 of the best-of-3 final 3-1 on Tuesday. 

Price, who has won 16 straight games for Canada, dating to the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship, made 32 saves Thursday. He allowed seven goals in six World Cup games. 

Goal of the game

With overtime looming, Marchand exploited some defensive uncertainty for the winning goal. Three Team Europe players were back, but Toews drew two to him and then launched a deft backhand pass onto the stick of onrushing Marchand that caught the defenders flat-footed. From there, Marchand took over, snapping a quick shot Halak could not react to in time. 

Saves of the game

In a back-to-back sequence during a Team Canada power play, Price turned aside shorthanded breakaways by Tobias Rieder and Marian Hossa to prevent Team Europe from extending its 1-0 lead. 

Unsung moment of the game

Marchand was in position to score the game-winning goal because Price made his best save of the game 25 seconds earlier, denying Hossa from the slot on a dangerous one-timer during the Team Europe power play. 

Highlight of the game

Chara gave Team Europe its first lead of the final at 6:26 of the first period with a beautiful goal. Taking a pass from Frans Nielsen, Chara drifted into the faceoff circle before taking a wrist shot that found a hole between Price's shoulder and the post. 

They said it 

"It was always one shot away. It's always, 'Who wants to be that guy?' And there's so many guys in this dressing room that want to be in that position. We have so much talent in this dressing room that we knew all we needed was one bounce to go our way." -- Team Canada forward Bergeron on its mindset in the third period 

"We had a lot of fun. It was a special group, and it's something that is one thing that I am for certain, that this is going to stay with us for a long, long time." -- Team Europe captain Anze Kopitar 

"It's tough to describe when you're standing on the blue line, you're looking around, you see your family in the crowd and how proud everybody is in the whole arena. When you watch that flag go up and all these emotions are going through your head and you're representing your country and your team just had success and won for your country, you know, that's something that you can't describe. It's an incredible feeling. Again, I'm a bit lost for words right now." -- Team Canada forward Brad Marchand  

Need to know 

It took Team Canada until 5:59 of the first period to get its first shot on goal, its longest stretch to start a game in the tournament. Team Canada went 3:06 without a shot to start the game against Team USA in the preliminary round. … The first intermission was the first time in the tournament Team Canada ended a period trailing a game. … Team Europe was the first team to hold a team from Canada without a goal for two periods since Russia shut it out in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Torino Olympics.

via WCH2016.com.

Tatar scores in OT to lift Team Europe into final

TORONTO -- Team Europe wasn't ready for its surprising run at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 to end. 

Tomas Tatar scored 3:43 into overtime to give Team Europe a 3-2 semifinal victory against Team Sweden at Air Canada Centre on Sunday, securing a spot in the best-of-3 final against Team Canada, which begins on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, TVA Sports).

"One of the best tournaments in the world, best players from the NHL in one spot and we have a chance to play in the final, which is great," Tatar said. "The story continues." 

After Team Sweden goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made a left pad save on Tatar's initial shot the rebound caromed into the net off Tatar's left skate. It was Tatar's second goal of the game after he had no points in three preliminary-round games.

"I was hoping I'm going to get an opportunity to sway one game and I'm lucky it happened today," Tatar said.

Although few expected Team Europe, an amalgamation of players not from Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic or Russia, to get this far, Team Sweden had aspirations of reaching the final and getting a chance to avenge a loss to Canada in the gold medal game at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. 

"We all wanted to play in the finals against Canada," Team Sweden left wing Daniel Sedin said. "That was our goal and today's effort wasn't enough," "We played a patient game and they were the ones who scored." 

Team Sweden took the lead 2:31 into the second period when Nicklas Backstrom went to the net to put in an Anton Stralman rebound. Marian Gaborik pulled Team Europe even at 1-1 with 3:33 left in the second by finishing a centering feed from defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. 

Tatar backhanded home his own rebound 12 seconds into the third period to put Team Europe ahead 2-1. Erik Karlsson scored the goal that forced overtime when his right point shot appeared to deflect off Team Europe defenseman Roman Josi before floating in past goaltender Jarolsav Halak with 4:32 remaining in regulation.

Goal of the Game:

After Lundqvist failed to stop the puck when Anze Kopitar threw it behind the net, Team Europe forward Mats Zuccarello tracked it down long the left wing boards and fed Tatar, who was driving to the right post. Lundqvist made a left pad save on Tatar's initial shot, but the rebound deflected into the net off Tatar's left skate. A video review by officials in the NHL Situation Room confirmed that the goal was legal because Tatar did not make a distinct kicking motion with his foot. "It's always stressful when there's a review," Tatar said. "You never know which way it's going to go. I knew I didn't do a kicking motion, so I was hoping they were going to see it on the replay."

Save of the Game:  

Backstrom had a chance to win the game for Team Sweden on a 2-on-1 rush 3:17 into overtime, but Halak made a right pad save on his wrist shot from the right circle. Tatar scored the winning goal 26 seconds later. "I was trying to shoot low blocker, but he made a good save and unfortunately they won it after that," Backstrom said. "That's hockey."

Unsung moment of the Game:

Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Team Europe had to kill off a hooking penalty by Zuccarello 4:14 into the third period. It got two saves from Halak and blocked shots from Kopitar and Andrej Sekera to survive the two minutes. 

Highlight of the Game:

Team Europe came close to going up by two goals 9:31 into the third period when Tomas Vanek's breakaway shot went off Lundqvist's right pad and was headed for the goal line. Stralman raced back in time to clear the puck away before it went in.

They Said It:

"We are happy where we are and definitely pleased. I think nobody would guess we could be in the final. It was 33-to-1 odds against us. So it just feels good to be where we're at. I think everybody here is really happy." -- Team Europe right wing Marian Hossa

"It's important we don't get giddy. We want to give Canada and the world a really good final." --Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger

"Everything other than a gold medal is a failure in our eyes, and I think that's what everybody in our dressing room believes. We had one goal in mind and we didn't manage to accomplish that. This one definitely stings." -- Team Sweden left wing Gabriel Landeskog

"There are things you want to go back and change, but right now I'm content we're top four. But I'm obviously disappointed we're not top two." - Team Sweden coach Rikard Gronborg

Need to Know:

Halak made 37 saves and has stopped 142 of 150 shots he's faced in the tournament for a .947 save percentage. … Josi played a game-high 29:00. Karlsson led Team Sweden in playing 22:52. … Team Canada defeated Team Europe 4-1 in the preliminary round on Wednesday.

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Puck time spent in offensive zone on power play: 37% for Team Europe and 54% for Team Sweden


What's Next:

Team Sweden: Finishes the tournament with consecutive overtime losses and falls one win short of reaching the final.

Team Europe: Advances to the best-of-3 final against Team Canada, beginning on Tuesday.

via WCH2016.com.

Team Canada defeats Team Europe to win Group A

TORONTO -- Team Canada completed its undefeated roll through the preliminary round of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 with a 4-1 win against Team Europe at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday.

Jonathan Toews scored twice and had an assist for Team Canada, which clinched first place in Group A by going 3-0-0 while outscoring its opponents 14-3.

"I think tonight we got a few bounces and a couple of goals went in, but I think we're all finding our game more and more as the tournament goes along," Toews said.

Next is a semifinal game against either Alex Ovechkin and Team Russia or Connor McDavid and Team North America on Saturday or Sunday.

"On the defensive side of things, we're going to have to make sure we're ready for whoever we face," Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby said. "We need to make sure we control the puck in their end. I think we know at this point that whoever we play, we'd better be ready to move our feet."

Marian Hossa scored and Jaroslav Halak made 43 saves for Team Europe, which finished second in Group A at 2-1-0 and will play Team Sweden, the Group B winner, in the semifinals.

"We came here and it was our goal to go to the semis," Team Europe defenseman Roman Josi said. "It's definitely great for the group. We're happy, and we, obviously, want more now."

Team Canada controlled play from the drop of the puck, outshooting Team Europe 17-4 in the first period and 46-20 in the game. Crosby scored first on a wraparound 4:01 into the period.

Toews capitalized on a Halak turnover by deflecting a Matt Duchene pass to make it 2-0 with 54.4 seconds left in the first. Hossa made it 2-1 with a shot from below the left circle that slipped past Corey Crawford, his Chicago Blackhawks teammate, on the short side and went in off the far post 4:38 into the second period.

Toews made it 3-1 when he scored from the left circle on a 2-on-1 with 5:12 remaining in the second. Logan Couture scored a 4-on-4 goal with 2:27 left in the third period.

Goal of the Game:

Crosby made it 1-0 by circling behind the net with the puck and beating Halak to the right post for his second goal of the tournament.

Save of the Game:

Halak kept Team Canada's lead at 1-0 with back-to-back saves on Brad Marchand with 1:10 remaining in the first period. After the puck bounced to Marchand at the right side of the crease, Halak slid over to make a left-pad stop on the initial shot and used his left arm to stop the rebound attempt.

Unsung Moment of the Game:

Team Europe forward Tobias Rieder moved in alone against Crawford 2:36 into the game and appeared to have the goaltender beaten when he pulled the puck to his backhand. But Team Canada defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic hit Rieder with his stick from behind, causing his shot to slide wide of the right post.

"I think I felt just a little whack that kind of messed everything up," Rieder said. "If that goes in, [the game] might take a different direction."

Highlight of the Game:

Toews made it 2-0 with help from Duchene. Halak played the puck behind the net and Duchene intercepted along the left-wing boards before throwing it in front to Toews for the redirection.

They Said It:

"I was pretty nervous before the game. Wearing the jersey, being on the ice with all those guys, it got me a little nervous. It's special. I always wanted to be a part of that. To play in the game was awesome." -- Team Canada goaltender Corey Crawford

"It's not one of those games where you ever leave feeling real great because you don't play like you're supposed to. But big win for our team. We're set up good. Don't have to move dressing rooms. Life is good, man." -- Team Canada coach Mike Babcock

"Everybody could see that they were a little better than us, at least tonight. They outshot us, outchanced us. Jaro played great for us, but it's really hard to beat this team. You never know what'll happen, but it's going to be really hard to beat this team." -- Team Europe right wing Marian Hossa

Need to Know:

Crosby (two goals, two assists), Toews (three goals, one assist) and Duchene (two goals, two assists) are tied for the Team Canada and tournament lead with four points. Team North America defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere also has four points (all assists). … Center Ryan O'Reilly was the only Team Canada skater to play in three preliminary-round games and not get a point. … Forward Mats Zuccarello leads Team Europe with three points (one goal, two assists).

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
The puck was in Team Canada's offensive zone 47% of the time at even strength

What's Next:

Team Canada: Will play either Team Russia or Team North America in a semifinal on Saturday or Sunday. It will be Team Russia if it defeats Team Finland on Thursday. It will be Team North America if Team Finland wins that game.

Team Europe: Will play Team Sweden in a semifinal on Saturday or Sunday.

via WCH2016.com.

Team USA shut out by Team Europe in opener

TORONTO -- The World Cup of Hockey 2016 opened with a shocker when Team Europe upset Team USA 3-0 at Air Canada Centre on Saturday.

Marian Gaborik, Leon Draisaitl and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored, and Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves for Team Europe.

Jonathan Quick made 14 saves for Team USA, which has two days off before playing Team Canada on Tuesday.

"We know we've got to learn from that one and get ready for the next one because it's not going to get any easier for us," Team USA left wing Zach Parise said. "We've got to rebound."

Not much was expected from Team Europe after it lost its first two pretournament games to Team North America. But it has opened eyes by defeating Team Sweden 6-2 in its final pretournament game and shutting out Team USA.

"Within the room, we know what we're capable of," Draisaitl said. "From the outside, we got kind of stamped as the underdog here and I think we all understand that, but, at the same time, we have some really, really good players on our team as well, a lot of experience."

Team Europe scored 4:19 into the first period when Gaborik finished a 2-on-1 with Frans Nielsen. Draisaitl made it 2-0 by finishing a 2-on-0 with Nino Niederreiter 4:02 into the second period. That came off a turnover by Team USA right wing Patrick Kane inside the Team Europe blue line.

Bellemare made it 3-0 by deflecting Jannik Hansen's left-point shot past Quick with 1:28 remaining in the second period. Team USA picked up the pressure in the third period, outshooting Team Europe 17-7, but could not break through against Halak.

"I think [the win] set us up for some fun now in the tournament and [we] just want to stay in the moment, keep the picture really small," Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger said. "We have a difficult challenge still ahead of us. We haven't accomplished anything yet."

Goal of the game: Kane's turnover proved costly when it led to Draisaitl's goal. Draisaitl pressured Kane into turning over the puck to Tobias Rieder, leading to the 2-on-0. With Team USA defensemen John Carlson and Ryan Suter caught deep, Draisaitl and Niederreiter had plenty of time to pass the puck back and forth before Draisaitl scored from the right side of the crease.

Save of the game: With Team Europe leading 2-0 and 10:46 remaining in the second period, Halak slid to his left to break up a 2-on-1 pass from Kane intended for Ryan Kesler, who was driving to the right post.

Unsung moment of the game: Team Europe killed off Christian Ehrhoff's tripping penalty with 3:41 remaining in the second period by blocking three shots and having Halak stop Joe Pavelski's left-circle one-timer. Bellemare scored 13 seconds after Ehrhoff exited the penalty box.

Highlight of the game: An apparent power-play goal with 5:50 remaining in the second period that would have pulled Team USA within 2-1 was disallowed after video review. Officials in the NHL Situation Room ruled that James van Riemsdyk deliberately directed the rebound of Ryan Suter's left-point shot into the net with his body.

They said it

"We tried to stay together even through a little bit of adversity there. But we just couldn't create better scoring chances. I thought for really a good part of the game we had the puck quite a bit, but we just couldn't develop those good scoring chances." -- Team USA coach John Tortorella

"We probably wish we were playing [Sunday or Monday]. It'll be a long two days for us. I'm sure we'll go over some things on video, kind of learn from our mistakes, figure out the way we want to play and the way we want to do certain things better." -- Team USA right wing Patrick Kane

"I think our play with the puck was pretty good. We didn't do any unnecessary mistakes or give them a whole lot of freebies and make them come through us and try to do something special to get to our net." -- Team Europe captain Anze Kopitar

"I think the guys did a really good job in the first period. We didn't give them too much. If you look at the shot count in the first period, it was 6-5 for Team USA, so it kind of got me into the game, and as the game went on I was feeling more comfortable and the guys were making better plays." -- Team Europe goaltender Jaroslav Halak

Need to know

Each team was 0-for-4 on the power play. Team USA had 11 power-play shots on goal, including eight in the third period. … Team Europe blocked 18 shots. … Team USA outhit Team Europe 25-19. … Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, right wing Kyle Palmieri and goaltender Cory Schneider were scratched for Team USA. Defenseman Luca Sbisa, left wing Mikkel Boedker and goaltender Philipp Grubauer were scratched for Team Europe.

What's next

Team USA: Two days off before playing Team Canada on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVA Sports).

Team Europe: A game against Team Czech Republic on Monday. (3 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports).

via WCH2016.com.

Notebook: Jaroslav Halak named Team Europe's starter

WASHINGTON -- Coach Ralph Krueger hinted after the morning skate Wednesday that Jaroslav Halak would be Team Europe's No. 1 goaltender when the World Cup of Hockey 2016 gets underway in Toronto this weekend.

After Halak's 34-save performance against Team Sweden in its final pretournament game, Krueger confirmed Halak won the job.

Halak is joined by New York Islanders teammate Thomas Greiss and Philipp Grubauer as Team Europe's goalies.

"It would be silly to play any type of games around anything," Krueger said. "The way Jaro has come into this camp, into his games, the professionalism … we're of course pleased to see him have that kind of a game tonight."

YOUNG FORWARD RESPONDS: Leon Draisaitl played 5:30 in a pretournament game against Team North America on Sunday. It didn't sit well with him.

But the 20-year-old responded in a big way Wednesday, scoring a hat trick in the 6-2 win against Team Sweden.

Draisaitl was held without a point and had a minus-3 rating in Team Europe's first two pretournament games. But with Wednesday being his team's final tuneup before it plays Team USA at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports), Draisaitl felt it was important to have a good performance after he received limited ice time in a 7-4 loss Sunday.

"I think it's pretty easy to get motivated for those kinds of games, for this tournament," Draisaitl said. "I didn't play very much the last game, so I had to make sure I'm ready to go off the bat, and I think our whole line played a pretty solid game. It was a good bounce-back for me."

Krueger agreed.

"Under the circumstances, outstanding," Krueger said. "He had very little ice time in the second half of the last game, and our coaching staff spent a lot of time with him, especially [assistant coach] Paul Maurice did a really long video session with him yesterday. When you see this type of reaction, he could've easily laid down and quit and, no, he came back fighting.

"It's the character of our team. We're an underdog team built with underdog countries, and an individual like Leon is just a great example of the little nuances that are happening within our life as a group. Very pleased for Leon to react the way he did. We're a dangerous team. We've got a lot of players that can score, and it makes us lethal if we can play good defense and get the goaltending we got today from [Halak]."

via WCH2016.com.

Leon Draisaitl hat trick lifts Team Europe to win

WASHINGTON -- Team Europe figured it was due to break out after losing its first two pretournament games for the World Cup of Hockey 2016, and the third time was the charm.

Leon Draisaitl led the way with a hat trick to help Team Europe defeat Team Sweden 6-2 at Verizon Center on Wednesday.

Coach Ralph Krueger said he was happy to see Draisaitl rebound after limiting his ice time in the second game. The 20-year-old Edmonton Oilers forward working with the coaching staff on small improvements this week.

"When you see this type of reaction, he could've easily laid down and quit and, no, he came back fighting," Krueger said. "It's the character of our team. We're an underdog team built with underdog countries, and an individual like Leon is just a great example of the little nuances that are happening within our life as a group."

Tomas Tatar, Thomas Vanek and Anze Kopitar also scored for Team Europe. Daniel Sedin and Patric Hornqvist scored for Team Sweden.

Team Sweden goalie Henrik Lundqvist allowed five goals on 22 shots in 47:01. Jacob Markstrom made one save in relief.

Team Europe goalie Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves on 36 shots.

Team Sweden lost two of three pretournament games, including in overtime to Team Finland.

Draisaitl opened the scoring at 8:53 of the first period, redirecting a Zdeno Chara slap shot from the point past Lundqvist, who had lost his stick.

Tatar made it 2-0 at 2:48 of the second with a power-play goal. He scored on the rush from the left circle off a pass from Marian Gaborik.

Team Europe forward Jannik Hansen was tripped by defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson while on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot at 4:21 of the second, but Lundqvist made the save.

Draisaitl scored his second goal at 14:31 to make it 3-0. He maneuvered around defenseman Mattias Ekholm and beat Lundqvist over his glove.

Sedin made it 3-1 when he scored on the power play with 2:53 left in the second. He one-timed an Erik Karlsson pass by Halak from the high slot.

Vanek scored on a breakaway at 5:01 of the third period to make it 4-1, and Draisaitl completed his hat trick at 6:46 of the third.

Hornqvist deflected a Victor Hedman slap shot past Halak at 15:09 of the third to make it 5-2.

"You don't have that many games, so you have to see what was good, what was not good enough, and what do you have to work on here in the next few days to get ready," Lundqvist said. "For sure, you're going to have a few meetings to talk about the good and the bad and learn from it and improve both personally and as a group." 

Kopitar scored an empty-net goal with 32 seconds remaining.

The World Cup begins Saturday in Toronto.

Goal of the game: On Draisaitl's second goal of the game, he came down the right wing on the rush and deked past Ekholm before flicking the puck over Lundqvist's glove to give Team Europe a 3-0 lead.

Save of the game: Lundqvist wasn't fooled by Hansen's head fake and deke on his penalty shot in the second period. Lundqvist stayed firm and denied Hansen with a routine kick save.

Unsung moment of the game: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was in the right place at the right time when he prevented Team Sweden from scoring by swatting away a loose puck that trickled into the crease in the first period.

Highlight of the game: Vanek took advantage of Anton Stralman's giveaway in the neutral zone, got in alone on Lundqvist, and scored a top-shelf goal over Lundqvist's right shoulder.

They said it

"Just a lack of intensity to begin with. I don't think we came out playing our game. We tried to play their type of style, and they're much better than us at just that. They kind of picked us apart, and we made a few individual mistakes and gave up some tremendous scoring chances. Meanwhile, we couldn't execute on ours. It just kind of ran away from us. It was a poor performance." -- Team Sweden defenseman Anton Stralman

"We knew that it was going to be a tough start with 22, 23 players that never played together. The goal was just to improve with every game, whatever the score was, and I think we achieved that. It's not the best game yet, but we started stronger than we did last game and we worked through 60 minutes. They had some good moments and [Jaroslav Halak] made some unbelievable saves, and we're going to need that in the tournament too." -- Team Europe forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

"I think it's pretty easy to get motivated for those kinds of games, for this tournament. I didn't play very much the last game, so I had to make sure I'm ready to go off the bat, and I think our whole line played a pretty solid game. It was a good bounce back for me." -- Team Europe forward Leon Draisaitl

Need to know: Halak will be the No. 1 goaltender for Team Europe when the tournament begins. … Andrej Sekera led Team Europe in ice time with 19:16. … Team Sweden forward Daniel Sedin had nine shots on goal. … Erik Karlsson led Team Sweden in ice time with 21:21.

Team Sweden: Its first game of the World Cup is against Team Russia at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVA Sports).

Team Europe: Its first game of the tournament is against Team USA at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports).

via WC2016.com.

Big first period lifts Team North America to victory

MONTREAL -- Team North America is more concerned about the way it finished its two lopsided wins its World Cup of Hockey 2016 pretournament games, rather than its quick starts in each game against Team Europe.

Aaron Ekblad scored two of three Team North America goals 1:59 apart in the first period of a 7-4 win against Team Europe at Bell Centre on Sunday.

Johnny Gaudreau and Dylan Larkin each scored two goals and Morgan Rielly scored one of five goals in the first for Team North America, which also defeated Team Europe 4-0 in Quebec City on Thursday.

"I think we all realize that a 7-4 isn't what we wanted," Ekblad said. "Defensively, neutral zone, we've got to take care of that. We realize we were sloppy at times. Definitely a good start, but our second and third periods in both games haven't been up to par."

John Gibson made 29 saves in his first start for the team comprised of players 23-and-younger from the United States and Canada.

"These young players have a lot of courage," Team North America coach Todd McLellan said. "They want to have fun and play that way. But I'm pretty sure if we get moving along in the tournament and give up four goals a night, we're not going to have success. For as fast as we are transitioning, sometimes when we turn the puck over, we're going so fast it's hard to get going back the other way."

Forward Marian Gaborik scored two second-period goals, including one with 45.7 seconds remaining to draw Team Europe within two at 5-3.

Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger shortened his bench in an effort to get back into the game.

"Well, first of all the effort of everybody increased, but more than anything, we showed more patience in our game. We made more patient offensive decisions with the puck," Krueger said. "You saw more control, we spent more time in the offensive zone, and the goals were a result of that work. That was hard, but also smart, and that's the kind of team we need to be."

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored for Team Europe at 8:55 of the first.

Team North America already led 3-0 by that point, and Rielly's goal on a shot from the left point went into the net off Team Europe defenseman Mark Streit at 10:22 to make it 4-1.

Team Europe goalie Thomas Greiss was then pulled. He made four saves on eight shots.

Jaroslav Halak, who made 17 saves on Thursday, replaced Greiss. Gaudreau got credit for his second goal in two games after a shot rebounded off the end boards and into the net off Halak to increase the lead to 5-1 with less than five minutes remaining in the first period.

Halak made 22 saves on 24 shots.

"It was tough for Thomas," Streit said. "A couple of unfortunate bounces and things like that happen, it's hockey. And the poor guy, usually in goal you couldn't really do anything, but the pucks were in the net and I guess that's why Ralph decided to change the momentum and Halak came in and played a (heck) of a game. But both goalies are really good goaltenders and they're going to be a big factor in the tournament."

Frans Nielsen drew Team Europe within 5-4 at 8:17 of the third period when he finished off a passing play with Mats Zuccarello and Roman Josi to shoot past Gibson when he drove the low slot.

Gaudreau restored Team North America's two-goal lead with his second goal of the game at 11:29. He cut across the goalmouth and scored his third goal in two games on a backhand between Halak's legs.

Larkin, who did not play Thursday, scored his second goal into an empty net with 14 seconds remaining.

The World Cup begins Sept. 17 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Goal of the game: Larkin scored his first goal at 6:27 of the first period, 1:07 after Ekblad opened the scoring. Trailing on a Team North America 3-on-1, Larkin was not picked up by Nielsen and scored on a rebound in the slot.

Save of the game: Gibson sprawled to his right to make a save on Team Europe captain Anze Kopitar's shot from the left side with 36.7 seconds remaining to keep Team North America ahead by two.

Unsung moment of the game: When Team Europe desperately needed to stop the momentum by Team North America, forward Thomas Vanek did that, putting a puck toward the net. Vanek, who did not play Thursday, shot from behind the goal line in the right corner and the puck handcuffed Gibson. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was on the spot to put it behind Gibson and give Team Europe its first goal a after a rough start.

Highlight moment of the game: Team North America left wing Auston Matthews made the play that led to Ekblad scoring his first goal at 5:20. Chosen No. 1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft, Matthews cut across the goalmouth after receiving a pass from linemate Brandon Saad on the right side. Matthews, who turns 19 on Sept. 17, had the puck knocked off his stick, but it went right to Ekblad, who shot past Greiss for a 1-0 lead.

They said it

"I think you just can't be satisfied. I mean, we got up 5-1, I understand that can be hard to stay in the game, but they're a great team so they're able to come back in those kind of games. But we did a good job of holding them off. Ultimately, you don't want to win, well, you want to win a 7-4 game, but you'd rather that game end up 5- 6-1, or -2, or something like that. You know, we can't be giving that much up." -- Team North America captain Connor McDavid

"I thought we had a pretty good start, but all of a sudden you're down by four. They had some shots, they had some zone time, but it seems like they got the bounces as well. I thought after that we kept our calm. We had a better structure in our game, we stayed calm, and we finally got into the game and scored a goal, and I think that the last 40 minutes we improved a lot and that's what we have to take into next game on Wednesday." -- Team Europe defenseman Mark Streit

"Those two are skilled guys, they can shoot the puck. They've got great shots, they're fast, they've got some great speed, it's just fun playing with them so hopefully we can build off of tonight. And I think we had some good quality chances throughout the game. We might want to shoot a little bit more at times instead of being a little too pretty, but I think we had some chances tonight and hopefully we can build off of that." -- Team North America left wing Johnny Gaudreau on playing on a line with McDavid and Jack Eichel

"I really thought after the pain of the first period that for the first time standing behind the team you felt like the group was coming together. The talk on the bench and the way the lines worked after we changed them, it just felt better, so I think some good things come out of this game with us forward and we continue to build." -- Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger

Need to know: Is McDavid in a slump? Team North America had 11 players score a point in the first period Sunday and McDavid was not one of them. He has no points despite his team scoring 11 goals in its two pretournament games against Team Europe.

"I'm sure you guys will say a bunch of stuff but ultimately it doesn't matter," McDavid said. "We've won twice and that's all that matters. We have areas in our team game that we need to clean up. Personally, not the kind of start you want to get off to, but it's two games into the year, why would I worry?"

What's next

Team Europe: A pretournament game Wednesday against Team Sweden at Verizon Center in Washington (7 p.m., ET; ESPN3, SN360, TVA Sports 2).

Team North America: A pretournament game Wednesday against Team Czech Republic at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh (3:30 p.m., ESPN3, Sportsnet, Sportsnet1, TVA Sports).

via WCH2016.com.

Team North America shuts out Team Europe

QUEBEC CITY -- It was hard to know, heading into a World Cup of Hockey 2016 pretournament game between Team Europe and Team North America on Thursday, exactly how it would play out, the two teams having no history.

Pressed, though, one likely would have given the edge to the young legs of Team North America -- as Team Europe forward Marian Hossa did before the game -- and that was exactly how it played out.

Starting in the second period, Team North America poured it on, burning the defense pair of Roman Josi and Zdeno Chara with three goals in fewer than five minutes of a 4-0 win at Videotron Centre.

"Our team was built on speed and skill, and we exploited that tonight," Team North America forward Nathan MacKinnon said.

It started 3:52 into the second period, after Team Europe defenseman Luca Sbisa committed the first penalty of the game. Team North America, players 23 or younger as of Oct. 1, took advantage, with MacKinnon scoring the first of his two goals when a shot by Aaron Ekblad bounced to him off the end boards. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was next with an unassisted goal at 6:22, followed by Johnny Gaudreau at 8:34.

MacKinnon scored his second on a penalty shot at 11:52 of the third. Team North America coach Todd McLellan later said he thought MacKinnon was its best player in the game and praised his line of Nugent-Hopkins and Auston Matthews.

Team North America goaltender Matt Murray rarely was tested making 23 saves. Team Europe goalie Jaroslav Halak allowed four goals on 21 shots.

"I thought that we definitely saw a lot of speed from Team North America right off the hop," Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger said. "The adjustment to that speed took a while. I thought as we went on through the game, if you take away the goals, we were dealing with it better as time went on, and the third period was probably the best period. So we're going to build on that."

The tournament begins Sept. 17 in Toronto.

Goal of the game: MacKinnon scored the first goal for Team North America at 3:52 of the second period, after an Ekblad shot bounced off the end boards to him on the power play. MacKinnon, who played very well overall, roofed the puck over Halak.

Save of the game: Team Europe got what would turn out to be a rare chance in the first period, with captain Anze Kopitar getting back-to-back whacks at a puck in close on Murray at 2:30 of the period. Murray got his left pad on the puck and kept it out of the net.

Unsung moment of the game: Just before Team North American scored its second goal, by Nugent-Hopkins, Matthews caused a turnover that kept the puck in the offensive zone and led to the score.

Highlight of the game: MacKinnon was dragged down by Mark Streit on the way to what might have been a goal against Halak. The Colorado Avalanche forward was awarded a penalty shot, and after a back-forth, back-forth move that evoked words like dirty and filthy, MacKinnon buried a backhand.

They said it

"We've called Team North America the fastest team in the tournament from the start. Which we also are grateful we're playing them twice. If I was going to have adversity, I'd rather have it right here, right now, so we can have things to work on. We're not embarrassed by the score. We've definitely got to work to change it." -- Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger

"We knew what was coming. Everybody's aware, obviously, of their speed and skill and play-making abilities. … It's obviously nice to play against a team like that too, because in Toronto there'll be speedy teams too and we're going to have to be ready." -- Team Europe captain Anze Kopitar

"I got booed when I played junior here." -- Team North America forward Nathan MacKinnon on getting an ovation from the Videotron Centre crowd when he was introduced

"Speed and hockey sense were on full display tonight." -- Team North America captain Connor McDavid

Need to know

There were reports that Hossa went to a hospital for X-rays after the game. There was no information on Hossa from Team Europe afterward, but he reportedly rejoined them to travel to Montreal. … Former Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy got the biggest ovation of the night after he came out for the pregame puck drop. … McDavid was named Team North America captain before the game. "It's a tremendous honor," McDavid said after the game. "I feel very lucky to be named captain. I was really looking forward to getting this thing started. … Very happy and humbled to be wearing it, but there's [22] other guys in that locker room that could wear it as well."

What's next

Team North America: A pretournament home game Sunday against Team Europe in Montreal (6 p.m., ET; ESPN3, SN, TVA Sports).

Team Europe: A pretournament road game Sunday against Team North America in Montreal (6 p.m., ET; ESPN3, SN, TVA Sports).

via WCH2016.com.

Teams North America, Europe, Sweden, Czech Republic release 2016 World Cup of Hockey Rosters

The North American,  Czech Republic, European, and Swedish teams for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey revealed their rosters on Wednesday.

Here are the rosters:

Czech Republic Roster

Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings, G

Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers, G

Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets, G

Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers, D

Michal Kempny, Avangard Omsk (KHL), D

Roman Polak, San Jose Sharks, D

Andrej Sustr, Tampa Bay Lightning, D

Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames, F

Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes, F

Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks, F

David Krejci, Boston Bruins, F

Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning, F

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, F

Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens, F

Vladimir Sobotka, Avangard Omsk (KHL), F

Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers, F

North American Roster

John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks, G

Connor Hellebuyck, Manitoba (AHL), G

Matthew Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins, G

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D

Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets, D

Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets, D

Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D

Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers, F

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres, F

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames, F

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, F

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, F

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, F

J.T. Miller, New York Rangers, F

Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames, F

Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets, F

Sweden Roster

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, G
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks, G
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes, D
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chicago Blackhawks, D
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators, D
Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings, D
Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals, F
Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins, F
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, F
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche, F
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, F
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, F
Alexander Steen, St. Louis Blues, F
Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings, F

European Roster:

Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark), G
Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia), G
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia), D
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland), D
Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany), D
Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia), D
Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland), D
Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark), F
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany), F
Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark), F
Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia), F
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia), F
Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark), F
Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia), F
Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria), F
Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway), F