Canada Annihilates Kazakhstan With 5 Third Period Goals

(Photo: The Canadian Press)

In a game where Canada was expected to win, they didn’t disappoint as they completely demolished Kazakhstan 8-0.  Canada got off to a slow start not getting their first goal until 15 minutes into the first period.  Dion Phaneuf finally got his first goal of the tournament, as Canada scored on the power play.  Kazakhstan was able to keep Canada in their end at times in the first, particularly early on.  It wasn’t until the second period that the game started to open up with Canada getting two goals in the second half of the period.  The first goal of the period came from Corey Perry as he seems to be finally finding his touch in the tournament.  The second goal came from Alexandre Burrows, Jordan Eberle had passed him the puck just as Eberle took a massive hit, just as Kazakhstan went of the power play and snipped it past the opposing goaltender.  The floodgates opened up in the third as Canada pounded Kazakhstan with 5 goals, three of which came within 50 seconds of each other.  It started off with Evander Kane, continued with John Tavares and finished off with Teddy Purcell getting his first of the tournament.  Phaneuf would add his second of the game a little over two minutes later, as he also seems to have finally found his game.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would add the final nail in the coffin in the final five minutes of the game.

Lost in all the scoring was the strong play of Devan Dubnyk who quietly put together a 24 save shutout performance.  This was his second start of the tournament and his first ever shutout at the World Championships.  After a relatively easy first period, only five shots, Dubnyk was a little busier in the second and third periods.  He would face 10 shots in the second and 9 more in the third, although he was never truly tested in the game.

This was easily Canada’s best overall game of the tournament and not just because of the score either.  Canada was strong defensively for the first time in the tournament, keeping Kazakhstan to the perimeter for the most part.  Coach Brent Suter continued to tinker with his defensive pairings, keeping only Jay Bouwmeester and Duncan Keith together as their top defensive pair.  Ryan Murray checked back into the lineup after sitting out against Finland and had, in my mind, a really strong game proving once again that he is very likely NHL ready going into the upcoming NHL draft.  The third period continues to be the best period for Canada, as at times the Canadian players tend to try to make the “pretty” plays early in the game and then as the game progresses they get down to the hardworking goals that have won them games.

Notes:

Canadian forward Ryan O’Reilly sat out with a minor injury. The Kazakhstan roster features four players who were part of the country’s upset victory over Canada at the 1998 world junior tournament. Kazak forward Konstantin Pushkarev is a former second-round pick by Los Angeles who has appeared in 17 career NHL games. Kazakhstan called a timeout in the final minute of the game after getting awarded a 5-on-3 power play. Announced attendance was 4,151. Canada now has 12 straight goals going back to game against Finland.

Alexei Troshinski player of game for Kazakhstan

Alexandre Burrows player of game for Canada