The final match of the group stage in the World Junior Championships is also the most anticipated. Russia and Canada have become the top two hockey nations in the world and their match on Monday morning will determine which team gets a bye in the quarter finals and an extra day of rest before the semi-finals.
Both of these squads are widely believed to be top contenders for gold this year and they have done nothing so far to alter that perception. Canada blitzed Germany for a tremendous 9-3 win before disposing of Slovakia in similar fashion with a 6-3 win. In their last match, Canada faced its toughest opponent in the United States. The match was defined by tremendous goalkeeping but Canada found a way to establish a solid lead in the early going. A little over seven minutes into the game, Canadian star Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a goal and just seven minutes later his teammate Ryan Strome added another goal to give Canada a 2-0 lead after one. Both players are the top two scorers in the tournament to date. Nugent-Hopkins has three goals and five assists for eight points while Strome has four goals (tied for first in the tournament with Finland's Markus Granlund) and two assists for six points. Canada's Mark Schiefele and Jonathan Huberdeau each have five points and play on the same line Nugent-Hopkins.
The second frame saw no scoring, but the United States' Jacob Trouba made things interest by scoring at the 11:02 mark of the third period. Canadian goalie Malcolm Subban silenced his critics by making an astounding 36 saves on 37 shots in his best outing of the tournament and Canada won 2-1.
Russia's offense erupted in their last match to Germany after being held in check in wins over Slovakia and the United States. After scoring only five goals in their first two games, Russia exerted their power with seven goals against a helpless German side. Leading the charge was Yaroslav Kosov who scored a natural hat-trick (three straight uninterrupted goals) in the third period when the game was already out of reach. Top NHL prospects Nail Yakupov and Mikhail Grigorenko each had two point nights despite having relatively quiet tournaments thus far. Andre Vasilevski pitched the shutout in goal, but his partner Andrei Makarov could get the tart in Canada. Makarov started against the United States and stopped 41 of 42 shots. Either keeper gives Russia a solid chance to win.
Canada leads the group with nine points to Russia's eight. The winner takes first place in the group and gets to skip the quarter final.
Predictions: Canada will win a hard fought contest. 3-2 Canada.
Start Time: 9 AM EST
TV Info: TSN (Re-runs at 12 PM EST and 7:30 PM EST)
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