Pavol Demitra scored in the shootout to give Slovakia a 2-1 victory against Russia tonight at Canada Hockey Place.

 The team re-entered the race for top spot in Group B with a dramatic come-from-behind win over Russia tonight at Canada Hockey Place. It now has three points, along with Russia and the Czechs.

 It was a fast, hard-hitting game with plenty of scoring chances that was old-school hockey – low scoring but super entertaining.

Although the first period was scoreless, it featured great skating and speed and two distinct styles. The Russians moved the puck like lightning from deep in their end to centre ice, favouring a long pass and quick skating. The Slovaks preferred to get the puck out of their end first, out of danger, and then chase it down and get creative at the Russian blueline.

Both strategies worked because several good scoring chances were split evenly between the teams, but goalies Jaroslav Halak (Slovakia) and Ilya Bryzgalov (Russia) were perfect in the scoreless first period. Alexander Ovechkin, who played against Slovakia’s top defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Andrej Meszaros, led all players with three shots, one a bullet drive that Halak got a piece of with his glove.

 “Super 8” was also one of the more physical players in the period, too. Indeed, he had a running battle all night with Chara and got the better of the much larger opponent more often than not.

 The second period started off with a bang, Slovakia having the better of play until a penalty to Tomas Kopecky. During the short-handed situation, Marian Hossa had a two-on-one with Branko Radivojevic and made a perfect pass to him, but Bryzgalov made a world-class save to keep the game scoreless. Then, moments after Kopecky came out of the box, Alexei Morozov wired a shot from the high slot that went off a Slovakia stick, changed direction completely, and beat Halak for the 1-0 Russia lead.

Not to be outdone, Halak made a similar and sensational save off Maxim Afinogenov who took a pass to the back door from a twisting and twirling Evegni Malkin to keep it a one-goal game after 40 minutes.

The Slovaks had their best chance early in the third when a series of penalties gave them a 5-on-3 advantage for more than a minute, but despite the abundance of talent they showed little creativity in their puck movement and didn’t generate a first-rate chance.

They tied the game at 9:48 on a harmless-looking play. Pavol Demitra beat two Russians along the left wing and chased down a loose puck in the corner to Bryzgalov’s right. He saw Marian Hossa in the slot, and Hossa’s quick shot snuck through the goalie’s pads and into the net, giving the Slovaks new life.  

Slovakia - Russia 2:1 (0:0, 0:1, 1:0, 0:0, 1:0)

Goals:

1 period

-

2 period

0:1 A. Morozov (A. Markov, S. Zinovyev) 25.32 EQ

3 period

1:1 M. Hossa (P. Demitra, M. Hossa) 49.48 EQ 

Shootout goal: P. Demitra

Goalkeepers: J. Halak - I. Bryzgalov
Penalties: 10 - 6 min
Shots: 33 - 37

Andrew Rodnieks, IIHF.com; The Ice-hockey Federation of Russia