World Cup of Hockey Final Canada Wins Game 1

TUESDAY’S RESULT
Home Team in Caps
TEAM CANADA 3, Team Europe 1

The line of Sidney Crosby (0-2—2), Brad Marchand (1-1—2) and Patrice Bergeron (1-1—2) combined for 2-4—6 to lift Team Canada past Team Europe in the opening game of the best-of-three World Cup of Hockey 2016 final.

Team Canada improved to 5-0-0 in the World Cup of Hockey 2016, outscoring opponents 22-7 in that span. That includes a +10 margin in the first period (11-1).

The line of Crosby (3-6—9), Marchand (4-3—7) and Bergeron (3-3—6) has combined for 10-12—22 in five games during the World Cup of Hockey 2016. Those players are the top three scorers in the tournament. Crosby also leads the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in assists and plus/minus (+8).

Head coach Mike Babcock on Canada not being as sharp as in previous games…

“Well, obviously we got the two points, I thought we had a good third. In the first, I thought that they were better than us for large stretches of the game at times, they executed and played fast. I didn’t think we moved the puck out of our zone at all tonight. We had guys out there that didn’t talk to one another so actually didn’t play fast and then turned the puck over on entry, so they looked quicker than they were and we probably looked slower than we were. In the end, obviously, we’ve got lots of room to get better, but we came here today to find a way to win a game. We won a game, so now tomorrow we’ve got to get better again so we can take this step.”

FYI

• Team Canada is appearing in the World Cup of Hockey/Canada Cup Final for the eighth time in as many such tournaments with wins in 1976, 1984, 1987, 1991 and 2004.
• Canada ranks first among clubs participating in World Cup of Hockey 2016 with a combined 14 Stanley Cup victories. Team Europe places second in that category with a collective eight wins.
• Captain Sidney Crosby extended his win-streak to 24 games while in a Team Canada jersey, dating back to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Carey Price stopped 32-of-33 shots to guide Team Canada to its victory. In doing so, Price improved to 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average, .954 save percentage and one shutout, all tops in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 (minimum: 2 GP).

Price also upped his record to a perfect 15-0-0 with a 1.05 goals-against average, .961 save percentage and five shutouts in his last 15 appearances for Team Canada dating to the 2007 World Junior Championship (16 GA in 15 GP). A breakdown:

• 2007 World Junior Championship: 6-0-0, 1.14 GAA, .961 SV%, 2 SO
• 2014 Olympic Winter Games: 5-0-0, 0.59 GAA, .972 SV%, 2 SO
• World Cup of Hockey 2016: 4-0-0, 1.50 GAA, .954 SV%, 1 SO

REMAINING WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY 2016 SCHEDULE
All Times Eastern

Game 2 – Thursday, Sept. 29
Team Canada @ Team Europe
8 p.m.

Game 3 – Saturday, Oct. 1*
Team Europe @ Team Canada
7 p.m.
* If necessary