Russians Blank Danes to Advance to Semi-Finals

The first team to advance to the semi-finals on Thursday has been finalized thanks to Russia's 4-0 victory over Denmark on Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The Russians put up the first goal of the game, one Lasse Petersen will see in his nightmares for the rest of his life. At 8:45, Alexander Polunin got past centre ice and flicked a shot towards the net, somehow getting over Petersen’s glove and in for potentially the weakest goal of the entire tournament.

Russia’s captain, Kirill Kaprizov, would give Russia the 2-0 lead with just 10.9 seconds left in the first. Sitting all alone in front of the net, Kaprizov would take a pass from Mikhail Vorobyov behind the net, one-timing the pass past Petersen and in to give Russia the two-goal advantage to start the second.

The goal marked the end of Petersen’s night, with Kasper Krog instead coming in to finish the game for the Danes. Krog performed well during the second period, stopping all 15 shots he faced to keep Denmark in the game when they truly looked overpowered.

The Russians, however, would pot the next goal to put the game out of reach. At 7:12 in the third, Pavel Karnaukhov stole the puck from Denis Guryanov in the slot and wristed it over Krog’s right arm, giving Russia the three-goal advantage.

With just under four and a half minutes to go in the game, the Russians made it 4-0. Kaprizov would thank the Danish defenders for sending the puck out to him a few feet away from the boards before roofing it over Krog, grabbing his second goal of the game and giving the Russians the 4-0 victory in the process.

With the win, Russia will meet up with the winner of Tuesday’s night game between USA and Switzerland in Montreal for the semi-finals on Thursday.

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Photo from Anders Marshall/EuroHockey.com

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