Canada turns up the heat on Kazakhstan

12 May 2012 | Jon Rowson

They kept it close for two periods, but Kazakhstan couldn't contain the Canadian offence in the third, as the Helsinki group leaders thrashed the Kazakhs 8:0

The Canadians knew they could not underestimate Kazakhstan after two solid performances against Slovakia and the United States, but they had enough in the tank to blow away Kazakhstan, scoring five times in the final period to put what is possibly the final nail in the coffin for Kazakhstan's survival hopes. Dion Phaneuf scored twice, whilst captain Ryan Getzlaf had three assists. Devan Dubnyk made 24 saves for his shootout, whilst the Canadians mustered 58 shots on Vitali Kolesnik and then later Vitali Yeremeyev.

Kazakhstan, who were unlucky not to get more than one point against the USA on Friday, gave as good as they got in the first period, and were unlucky to go a goal behind in a closely fought first period. Canada had the superiority in the shots department though, and they finally beat Vitali Kolesnik in the sixteenth minute, as a loose puck fell to Dion Phaneuf at the left point, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman hammered the puck into the top corner whilst Canada had the man advantage.

The second period belonged to Canada, although it was quite harsh on the Kazakhs to go into the period break 3:0 down. The Kazakhs held the Canadians off the board until the twelfth minute of the middle frame, but they could do nothing about a brilliant piece of skill by Corey Perry, breaking in on the right side of the Kazakhstan zone, making Kolesnik commit before scoring on a wrap-around, It was a bitter pill for Kazakhstan, as they had come so close to equalising a few moments before, as a Dubnyk rebound spilled out to an unmarked Roman Savchenko who had an open net to score into. Unfortunately for the Barys defenceman, he mis-hit the puck and their best chance in the game went begging. Canada got on the board with under three minutes to go in the period, as Vadim Kranslobotsev's neutral zone giveaway gave Alexandre Burows a shorthanded breakaway, which he duly finished into the top corner.

Canada, after flattering to deceive for the most part against the winless Kazakhs really turned on the style in the final period. They scored three times in a fifty second spell in which they broke all of the Kazakh resistance. At 42:57 Evander Kane tapped in a rebound to score his third of the tournament after a beautiful pass by Ryan Getzlaf in the build-up play. John Tavares netted at 43:39 after great resilience by Jordan Eberle to the left of Kolesnik, before Teddy Purcell put a close on Kolesnik's night at 43:47, scoring on a goal that the new Lokomotiv Yaroslavl netminder should have had. Vitali Yeremeyev took the cage for the Kazakhs, but it only took the Canadians two minutes to beat him, as Dion Phaneuf scored his second goal of the night, with another rocket from the left point, beating Yeremeyev on his short side. Dmitri Upper had a great chance with the Kazakhs on the powerplay, but couldn't find the back of the net. With under four minutes to go, the Canadians would make it 8:0, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins snapped home a one timer from a Tavares feed. Kazakhstan were given a 5 on 3 powerplay in the final minute of the third period, but try as they might they could not find a way to break their duck, and the game finished with the score a convincing 8:0 to Canada, with Kazakhstan all but certain to be relegated now.

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