Canada and Finland entered their matchup on Sunday -- the final game of pool play in the men’s tournament -- as two of the most dominant teams on paper thus far. With goal differentials of nine (Finland) and eight (Canada), respectively, neither team had really been tested in its first two games.
Finland vs. Team Canada results: Doughty’s pair pushes Canada past Finland in overtime, 2-1
Drew Doughty scored both Canadian goals, and Canada outlasted Finland 2-1 in overtime.
Bruce Bennett
And while Finland has been decimated by injuries up front, a compact Finnish defense limited Canada all day before bowing out when a Drew Doughty overtime goal sealed the Canadians' 2-1 win.
Both teams had a chance at claiming the No. 1 overall seed for the knockout round heading into the game, with the contest simply needing to end in regulation for one of the teams to claim that spot.
Doughty got the game's first goal midway through the first period, when he took the puck above the circles on a power play and fired a shot high past Tuukka Rask on the stick side. While Rask had a clear view of the shot, he was unable to get any of it, and the Canadians entered the intermission up a goal.
Rask would settle in, though, and stymie the Canadians through the rest of regulation. His defensemen and forwards did a strong job in front of him, as Finland funneled the Canadian attack to the outside, taking advantage of the width of the international ice.
While Finland spent much of the game in its own zone defending, they did muster an equalizer in the second period. On one of their rare offensive chances, Tuomo Ruutu was able to deflect a Jussi Jokinen shot from the high slot between the legs of Carey Price to knot the score at one.
Neither team would score in the third, sending the game into overtime. Doughty would play the role of hero, as he took a Jeff Carter feed skating toward the net, and beat Rask for the decisive tally. Finland only managed 15 shots on goal through three periods and the overtime.
Canada finishes as the third seed, and will face the winner of Switzerland-Latvia. Finland, the fourth seed, will play the winner of Russia-Norway.
More on the Winter Olympics:
• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis
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