Team North America defeats Team Sweden in overtime

TORONTO -- Team North America inched closer to the semifinals of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 with a 4-3 overtime win against Team Sweden in the last preliminary round game for each team at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday.

Team Sweden won Group B and advanced into the semifinals because of the one point it earned with the overtime loss. It will play Team Europe, which finished second in Group A after losing to Team Canada 4-1 on Wednesday.

The other semifinal berth from Group B will go to Team North America or Team Russia.

It will be Team North America if Team Finland defeats Team Russia on Thursday. A win by Team Russia would put it in the semifinals and eliminate Team North America based on the head-to-head tiebreaker (Team Russia defeated Team North America 4-3 on Monday).

"We entertained, and we'd like a chance to continue that," Team North America coach Todd McLellan said. "But it's out of our control."

Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winning goal at 4:11 of overtime. Auston Matthews, Vincent Trocheck and Johnny Gaudreau scored in the first period, and goalie John Gibson made 35 saves.

Team Sweden goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 45 saves, and Filip Forsberg, Nicklas Backstrom and Patrik Berglund scored. Berglund's goal at 6:50 of the third period tied the game 3-3.

"They won the game, but at the end of the day we won the group and that's what we're going to be happy about," Team Sweden defenseman Erik Karlsson said.

Team North America scored twice in the first 95 seconds and held a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal through the first 4:29.

Connor McDavid's rush through all five Team Sweden skaters 20 seconds into the game created the possession that led to Matthews' second goal of the tournament 10 seconds later, giving Team North America a 1-0 lead.

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Team North America forwards Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel achieved the top speed (24 mph) during the game.

Gaudreau was given a penalty shot 26 seconds later after getting hooked from behind on a breakaway by Karlsson; Gaudreau shot high and wide.

Trocheck scored at 1:35 to give Team North America a 2-0 lead.

Team Sweden made it 2-1 on Forsberg's shot from the right circle that hit off of Gibson as it went into the net at 8:24. Gaudreau responded with a breakaway goal at 13:57, and Backstrom answered for Team Sweden at 16:28 to make it 3-2.

"Obviously they caught us on our heels there pretty quick, and I think it was good for us to go down right away," Karlsson said. "We had to realize we had to play a better game in order to give ourselves a chance to win. We put ourselves in that position. We evolved our game more than they did throughout the 60 minutes and that's why we won the group."

Goal of the Game:

MacKinnon's game-winner was like a play you'd see at the end of a practice. He was alone in front of Lundqvist when he got the puck and made a series of quick stickhandling moves. Lundqvist swung out his stick to try to swipe the puck away from him but missed. MacKinnon dragged the puck to his backhand, Lundqvist's stick came out of his hands, and MacKinnon roofed it into the net.

Save of the Game:

Fifteen seconds before MacKinnon scored, Gibson came up with a game-saving stop on Daniel Sedin, who was sprung for what was essentially a red-line-in breakaway. Gibson stopped Sedin's attempt with his pad.

Unsung Moment of the Game:

Team North America kept the game tied 3-3 with McDavid in the penalty box for holding Anton Stralman at 15:34 of the third period. Team Sweden had three shots on goal during the power play, but Gibson stopped them all.

Highlight of the Game:

McDavid got the puck in the defensive zone on the first shift of the game and knifed up the middle of the ice. He blew past Team Sweden's three forwards and slipped between defensemen Stralman and Victor Hedman to generate a scoring chance that led to another five seconds later and a rebound goal for Matthews.

They Said It:

"Dave Tippett has coached probably more games than probably the rest of our staff put together, and we have coaches that have been around for a while, but we became fans. I was standing on the bench, 'No, no, no,' and then 'Go, go, go.' It was just going back and forth, the energy in the building and the passion with the fans, the players. I've seen a lot of excited players, but that bench was very excited. It was a lot of fun." -- Team North America coach Todd McLellan

"Wake the [bleep] up. Those first two minutes there, that was probably the most embarrassing part that I've ever been a part of on a team. They did it all. They had three breakaways, a penalty shot, a penalty called with them against us, two goals in the net. It gave us kind of a slap in the face, and I think that even though we didn't say those words to each other, it kind of made us say them to ourselves, look ourselves in the mirror realizing we need to wake up." -- Team Sweden defenseman Erik Karlsson

Need to Know:

Team North America goalie Matt Murray was scratched because of a sore right thumb. He started the previous two games. ... Lundqvist made 81 saves in two games on back-to-back days after missing the first game of the tournament because he was ill.

What's Next:

Team North America: Will advance to the semifinals if Team Finland defeats Team Russia on Thursday, and would play Team Canada, which won Group A.

Team Sweden: Will play Team Europe in the semifinals on Saturday or Sunday.

via WCH2016.com.

Team Russia holds off Team North America

TORONTO -- Team Russia's offense woke up in a big way, scoring four goals in a span of 6:14 in the second period and held off a late charge from Team North America to win the Group B showdown 4-3 at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 at Air Canada Centre on Monday.

Following a 2-1 loss to Team Sweden on Sunday, Team Russia captain Alex Ovechkin knew he and his teammates were playing for their tournament lives.

And they responded.

"Obviously we knew we can't lose the game," Ovechkin said. "If we lose the game we're obviously out of the tournament. Back-to-back, I think we played a solid second [period] and our penalty-kill guys, [Ivan] Telegin, blocked the shots, [Sergei] Bobrovsky.

"You can see everybody sacrificing, and we get the result."

Team Russia (1-1-0) got goals from Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko. Bobrovsky made 43 saves.

"We did it," Kuznetsov said. "We won the game. We feel like a family."

Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Team North America (1-1-0). Goaltender Matt Murray was pulled at 15:43 of the second period after allowing four goals on 19 shots.

Murray said he jammed his thumb midway through the second period, but added the injury did not impact his ability to play. Instead, he blamed the Team Russia flurry of goals on his team loosening up the game.

"We just gave them way too much space," Murray said. "I thought we might have sat back a little bit. When you sit back against a team like that, they're going to come at you 100 miles per hour and it's not easy to defend. We just gave them way too much space, and you can't with that lineup. You just can't."

Team North America captain Connor McDavid agreed with his goaltender.

"I think for the most part, we didn't want to turn it into a track meet and we did that for about 10 minutes and it cost us the game probably," he said. "I thought we played a very good game and we were all over them for the third period and most of the first. As soon as we opened it up and allowed them to use their speed, that's where you saw them kind of take over the game."

Team North America picked up where it left off in its 4-1 tournament-opening win against Team Finland, coming at Team Russia in waves and backing its defenders off with speed early in the game.

It paid dividends at 5:14 of the first period when Matthews, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, scored his first goal at Air Canada Centre one night after getting his first point in his future home rink.

The second period was a different story.

After scoring one goal in its first 89:29 of the tournament, Team Russia unleashed a flurry of four goals in six minutes to take a 4-1 lead.

Namestnikov got it started at 9:29, putting a rebound off the post, off Murray's right skate and into the net, followed by Kucherov's goal at 10:19 that gave Team Russia a 2-1 lead.

Kuznetsov made it 3-1 at 13:37, making a nifty move to his forehand on Rielly, and Tarasenko made it 4-1 at 15:43 on a turnaround wrist shot past a Datsyuk screen to chase Murray from the game.

Rielly got the comeback going for Team North America at 17:56 of the second, beating Bobrovsky with a wrist shot inside the far post. Nugent-Hopkins cut the Team Russia lead to 4-3 at 4:01 of the third, but Team North America would get no closer.

Team North America had a 5-on-3 power play chance for 1:34 midway through the third and had a 6-on-4 power play in the final minute, but could not tie the game.

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Team North America defenseman Colton Parayko had the hardest shot (99 mph) of the game, but missed the net.

Goal of the game: 

Just after the five-minute mark of the first period, McDavid raced down the wing with the puck, shedding Datsyuk on the boards along the way, and setting up Matthews with a tap-in goal.

Save of the game

Moments after Team Russia squandered back-to-back power-play opportunities without generating a shot on goal, McDavid had a chance to put Team North America up 2-0 at 5:23 of the second period when he broke in alone and deked backhand to forehand, but was denied by Bobrovsky's right pad.

"We were desperate tonight," Bobrovsky said, "so every moment, every shot, I was focused and that was the most important shot of my life."

Unsung moment of the game: 

Clinging to a 4-3 lead with less than nine minutes left, Team Russia forwards Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov took penalties 26 seconds apart. Team North America coach Todd McLellan sent out McDavid, Matthews, Mark Scheifele, Jack Eichel and Shayne Gostisbehere to try and get the tying goal. After buzzing around the zone for a minute, Matthews drove the puck hard to the net and created a scramble in the crease. With the puck loose and Bobrovsky out of position, Team Russia defenseman Nikita Zaitsev found it and swept the puck down the ice, ending the threat.

"That 5-on-3 late in the game, that's when we need to be able to do something," McDavid said. "We definitely let the team down there."

Highlight of the game: 

At 13:37 of the second period, Kuznetsov carried the puck down the right wing, slipped it under Rielly's stick and sent a quick wrist shot that appeared to surprise Murray to make it 3-1 for Team Russia. But then, Kuznetsov skated along the boards while flapping his arms in the air like a bird, making for a very unique goal celebration. Kuznetsov said he was inspired by playing video games.

They said it

"We have to figure out the symptoms of what caused the letdown in the second period. We looked unsure out there for the first time as a team." - Team North America coach Todd McLellan

"We were desperate, so the guys made huge blocked shots, the defensemen, the forwards. We were as one fist and it was fun to watch and fun to play shoulder to shoulder to shoulder." - Bobrovsky on the third period

Need to know: 

Team North America forward Dylan Larkin did not play a shift after Tarasenko's goal at 15:43 of the second period. Forward Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Ryan Murray each played three shifts in the third. … Team Russia's power play went 0-for-4 and is 0-for-6 in the tournament, generating five shots on goal on those six power plays. Team North America, on the other hand, went 1-for-7 on the power play Monday and generated a staggering 20 shots on goal. … Every Team North America player had at least one shot on goal except Drouin and Vincent Trocheck. Rielly led the team with seven.

What's Next? 

Team Russia: Plays Team Finland in the final preliminary round game for each team on Thursday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVA Sports).

Team North America: Plays Team Sweden in the final preliminary round game for each team on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVA Sports).

via WCH2016.com.

Team North America easily defeats Team Finland

TORONTO -- Team North America began the World Cup of Hockey 2016 by making an emphatic statement.

Forwards Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin scored in a dominant 4-1 win against Team Finland in the preliminary-round opener for each team at Air Canada Centre on Sunday.

The team of players 23 and under from Canada and the United States was playing its first competitive game and put on a show, taking over in the second period with three goals and dominating Team Finland with wave after wave of speed and skill.

"We're here to play," Gaudreau said. "Hopefully teams don't take us lightly. I think we're a fast, speed, skilled team and hopefully we can keep proving people we belong here."

Team North America outshot Team Finland 18-6 in the second period, and goaltender Matt Murray was hardly tested over the 20 minutes because his teammates kept the puck in the Team Finland zone for entire shifts at a time.

"The second period was a cold shower for us," Team Finland coach Lauri Marjamaki said. "They got better, they won every battle, they skate hard. They are so impressive."

Marjamaki said goaltender Pekka Rinne, who made 39 saves, was the best player for Team Finland.

Murray's shutout was lost when Valtteri Filppula scored for Team Finland at 15:53 of the third period.

"I think it's just about winning the game," said Murray, who made 24 saves. "It [stinks] in this tournament because I know goals against is a tiebreaker at some point, so, yeah, it hurts a little bit, but we won and that's what matters. I think we played the way we needed to tonight. We were on the puck quick and moving the puck fast and shooting the puck a lot, which I think is key."

Eight of Team North America's 12 forwards had a point in the game and defenseman Colton Parayko was the only player with two points, assisting on the goals by Gaudreau and MacKinnon.

Auston Matthews, the No 1 pick at the 2016 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, assisted on Eichel's power-play goal at 5:03 of the first period on his third shift in his first game at his future home rink.

"It's a pretty good feeling to go out there and contribute," Matthews said. "All four lines really brought something tonight. We definitely put them on their heels."

Team Finland kept pace in the opening period before Team North America pulled away in the second, starting with a goal by Gaudreau at 5:27. Drouin made it 3-0 at 7:27 of the second period, using a toe drag to get around defenseman Ville Pokka and put a dangerous shot on goal before scoring on his own rebound.

MacKinnon completed the scoring at 14:37 of the second, corralling a rebound of a Parayko shot and deking around Rinne to score.

Goal of the game:

With Team North America on the power play, Matthews beat Team Finland defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen along the left wing boards and put a rising shot on goal that Rinne couldn't handle, leaving a rebound that Eichel put behind him at 5:03 of the first period, giving Matthews a point in his first game at Air Canada Centre. "Power-play breakouts is something we've worked on and [Connor McDavid] made a great kick out and [Matthews] was able to escape a check on the wall and drive the net," Eichel said. "That's a great play by him."

Save of the game:

Just before the midpoint of the first period, Team North America center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the puck to the right of the Team Finland net, put a saucer pass through the legs of Filppula and right on the tape of Drouin. But Drouin's shot was met by a sliding Ristolainen, who got across before Rinne and prevented a goal.

Unsung moment of the game:

With defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere in the penalty box, Team North America had to withstand a Team Finland power play at 1:37 of the first period. Murray made a great save on Filppula and on Miikko Koivu on the rebound, maintaining the scoreless tie. Eichel scored less than two minutes later to give Team North America a 1-0 lead. "I think that's a big point in the game," Murray said. "I think if they score on that, obviously they have the momentum and maybe it's a different game. I thought the penalty kill did a great job and kept them to the outside for the most part. I think that kill was huge."

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Team Finland defenseman Olli Maatta achieved the fastest speed (29 mph) and traveled the most aggregate distance (5,816 meters/3.61 miles) Sunday against Team North America.


Highlight of the game:

Team Finland made a poor clearing attempt in their defensive zone that was intercepted by Parayko, who put the puck down and shot it from the point. The shot looked to be going wide, but Gaudreau, who was in front of the net, jumped and spun in the air while tipping the puck on his backhand behind Rinne at 5:27 of the second period.

They said it

"We started to realize what was going to work against them and how they were playing. That's what made us successful. We stuck to our game plan, kept the puck away from Rinne, put it behind their defensemen and used our speed. That's how we're going to have success in this tournament." - Eichel

"I was impressed by that team, they really took it to us and showed their individual skill, but also as a team they were extremely dangerous. I'm not going to take anything away from them, but I thought that we weren't ready to go tonight. We made too many mistakes, we weren't skating and that was the result." - Rinne

Need to know

Team North America coach Todd McLellan ran a very balanced bench, with no forward playing fewer than 12:12 of ice time (Brandon Saad), and no one higher than 16:04 (Nugent-Hopkins). ... Matthews and Dylan Larkin of Team North America each had a game-high five shots on goal. ... Team Finland forward Jori Lehtera played a team low 8:44.

What's Next?

Team North America: Plays Team Russia in the second preliminary round game for each team on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports).

Team Finland: Plays Team Sweden in the second preliminary round game for each team on Tuesday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVA Sports).

via WCH2016.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