Finland in Malmö to fight for the medals

Russia did not at all impress like they did in the first two games against the easier opponents Norway and Switzerland. Instead it was Finland who showed that they are in Malmö to fight for the medals.

Ivan Nalimov guarded the Russian net and he didn't have one of his best games, but he shouldn't be blamed for the loss. Finland was simply the better team today.

"We played well today. Everything worked for us", says Finnish forward Juuso Ikonen. "Our attacking was better than in the game against Sweden. We had more puck possession today".

Finnish goalie Juuso Saros had a good day at the job with 28 saves: "We played very well. We didn't give lots of scoring chances to Russia. The defense was amazing and I think everything worked for us today.

Russia had a very week second period which Finland won 3-0 after a single Russian goal in the opening act. The last period was mostly a long wait for the final buzzer.

Just after a minute of play the Russian second line had a few minor chances but it was a half minute later that Finland's Julius Honka had the first real shot on target. Easy save for Russian goalie Ivan Nalimov though.

Saros got good help from his defenders to protect the net.

Russia got the first man advantage after Ville Leskinen had taken a holding the stick penalty in the attacking zone. Pavel Buchnevich had a couple of chances to score before Russia also got a penalty and we got 4-on-4 play.

When both teams had return to full strength Russia attacked again and Pavel Buchnevich from the right corner found Valery Vasiliev who was all alone with Finnish keeper Juuse Saros and scored 1-0.

The minutes after the goal Finland had most of the puck possession and got a couple of decent chances to tie it. The best was another shot from Honka that was deflected but Nalimov was awake to stop it.

The game lost a lot of intensity for the second half of the first period. The Finnish defense sometimes looked a bit sloppy but Russia couldn't take advantage of that. Seconds before the intermission Finland had yet another scoring chance when Joni Nikko got to shoot from the right circle but Nalimov denied him.

The second period was all about Finland who scored three unanswered goals. Finland got a power-play opportunity in the third minute and they didn't need much time to tie it. Teuvo Teräväinen won the face-off and passed the puck to Ville Pokka who played it on to Samu Mäenalanen who got his third goal of the tournament.

Then Russia got a power-play and it must have been their worst of the tournament. They created nothing - even got two icing calls against them.

The second Finnish goal came as a surprise. Henrik Haapala took a loose shot intended for a team-mate to deflect. The Finn missed the puck that continued past a Russian defender and the surprised goalie for 2-1.

On a Finnish counter attack Juuso Ikonen took a shot from the right wing and Nalimov saved it but couldn't hold on to it. The puck bounced off to Rasmus Kulmala who easily could score 3-1 in an empty net.

Russia tried to put pressure on the Finnish net in the opening of the third, but doing so they got a cross-checking penalty in the attacking zone and Finland got the momentum back. And they also got goal number four when they got a 3-on-2 attack after a failed Russian break-away. Joni Nikko scored the goal in cooperation with Henri Ikonen and Aleksi Mustonen.

Not even when they got to play 5-on-3 for 44 seconds, Russia was really close to scoring a second goal.

A few minutes before the end Russia had their best period of the game with a bunch of opportunities, but Saros played well to keep them at one.

Finland finished the game with another power-play that didn't result in further scoring and the game ended 4-1.

The outcome of Group B is still wide open with the game Sweden-Russia remaining. Finland still has to play Switzerland and can win the group if Russia beats Sweden.

"We can't do anything about that", says Ikonen. "We have to focus on our own game".

Saros has respect for the Swiss team: "They are fast moving and have a lot of skill".

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