Canada completes comeback to eliminate Russia, will play for gold
It's not over until it's over.
Team Canada put together a four-goal effort in the third period for a 4-2 comeback victory over Team Russia in semifinal action Saturday.
The two sides were scoreless through the first 20 minutes, but goals by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nikita Gusev helped Russia take a 2-0 lead into the final frame.
Vadim Shipachyov, who recently signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, drew an assist on Gusev's goal, marking his 13th point of the tournament.
Canada got on the board just 17 seconds into the third with a goal from Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, who tipped a shot by Russian netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon drew an assist on Scheifele's goal, then added a tally of his own from the slot with less than five minutes remaining in the third to bring the score to 2-2.
Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly completed the comeback just 1:51 later, registering his fifth goal of the tournament to put Canada ahead. The team would tally again, with Sean Couturier adding an empty-net goal.
Canada will advance to the gold medal game to face the winner of Saturday's match between Finland and Sweden.
The country has won gold the past two years, defeating Russia in 2015 and Finland in 2016.