2017 World Championship. Semi-final. Canada - Russia - 4:2

In Cologne, the senior Russian national team took on Canada in the 2017 World Championship semi-final. Head coach Oleg Znarok didn't make any major changes to the line-up, keeping Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes. Calvin Pickard was Canada's starting netminder.

Despite the hype before the match, both teams played a calm first period. Neither goalkeeper had a lot of work to do, with the puck rarely getting through to the net. Forward Vladimir Tkachyov had the best chance, however he failed to slot into the gaping left corner. Andrei Vasilevskiy only made seven saves in the frame, but when called upon, he confidently shut the door on the Canadians.

Russia stepped it up in the second stanza, putting the pressure on Canada. Midway through the period, the first goal finally arrived. It was a beauty too, as a patient Evgeny Kuznetsov finished off a fantastic passing play with Nikita Kucherov and Artemiy Panarin. All of a sudden, the Canadians had their backs up against the wall. Not long later, Russia made it two on the powerplay. Nikita Gusev was the scorer, slotting in when completely open on the crease.

With it all to do, Canada came out flying for the third period. Mark Scheifele halved the deficit immediately, expertly tipping into the net on a Canadian powerplay. Unfortunately, Russia then contrived to commit a number of fouls as the Canadians laid siege to Andrei Vasilevskiy's net. The players managed to kill them off, but, with five minutes remaining, Russia's stubborn resistance was broken. Nathan Mackinnon and Ryan O'Reilly scored quickfire goals to give Canada their first lead, before Sean Couturier sealed it with an empty netter after Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled for the extra skater. 2:4, Russia lose to Canada and will compete in tomorrow's bronze medal match against either Sweden or Finland.

Match protocol:

Canada - Russia - 4:2 (0:0, 0:2, 4:0)

Goals:

0:1 Kuznetsov (Panarin, Kucherov), 32.16

0:2 Gusev (Shipachyov, Panarin), 34.50

1:2 Scheifele (Mackinnon, Parayko), 40.17

2:2 Mackinnon (Konecny), 55.07

3:2 O'Reilly (Matheson), 56.58

4:2 Couturier (O'Reilly, Parayko), 58.53

Goalkeepers: Pickard - Vasilevskiy

Shots on target: 38 - 28 

Penalty minutes: 10 - 22

20.05.2017. Cologne, Germany.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation