The Ontario Hockey League select team did not have a third-period letdown this time around, but Russia certainly made it interesting.

The OHL entered the final period with a 1-0 lead for a second straight game in the Subway Super Series in Sarnia, Ontario on Monday night, but instead of allowing Russia to score twice to steal a win like in Game 3, the home team built on its lead to secure a 2-1 win in Game 4.

The OHL's victory tied the Canadian Hockey League Subway Super Series at 2-2, with the final two games against the Western Hockey League slated for Vancouver on Wednesday and Victoria, British Columbia, on Thursday.

New York Islanders prospect Ryan Strome of the Niagara Ice Dogs scored a first-period goal and Vancouver Canucks draft pick Frank Corrado of the Sudbury Wolves provided what turned out to be the winner in the third as the OHL bounced back after losing the league's first Subway Super Series game to Russia on Thursday night in Guelph, Ontario.

The game marked a homecoming of sorts for Russian captain and 2012 top pick Nail Yakupov, who played his two years of major junior hockey with the Sarnia Sting and received a warm welcome from the crowd when he was introduced prior to the game. The Edmonton Oilers prospect risked being on the wrong end of his biggest highlight when he was the victim of a massive, third-period hit by Plymouth Whalers forward Tom Wilson.

St. Louis Blues prospect Jordan Binnington of the Owen Sound Attack left the game after 30 shutout minutes and a first-period goal by Ryan Strome remained the difference as the Ontario Hockey League maintained its 1-0 lead against Team Russia through two periods of Game 4 of the Subway Super Series in Sarnia, Ontario.

Binnington only had to make eight saves for his half shutout before giving way to Saginaw Spirit goaltender Jake Paterson, a Detroit Red Wings prospect, at 10:32 of the second period.

“All these players are outstanding, both offensively and defensively,” Binnington told Sportsnet’s Rob Faulds. “They did a great job limiting [Russia] to eight shots.”

Though there were no goals scored in the second period, the game had terrific pace with lots of end to end action and some big hitting. A lot of the physical play was being instigated by Plymouth Whalers forward Tom Wilson, a Washington Capitals prospect who was hitting anything he could find in a red jersey.

Barrie Colts forward Anthony Camara, a Boston Bruins draft pick, had two of the better chances of the period. The first came when he nearly split the Russian defense to go in alone on goal, but 2013 NHL Draft prospect Mikhail Naumenkov dropped his stick as Camara went by, and the loose stick wound up knocking the puck away before Corrado could get a shot off.

Later, Camara was set up with an open net by London Knights forward and Boston Bruins prospect Seth Griffith, but his redirection went just wide with a little less than six minutes to play in the period.

Paterson only needed to make three saves in the OHL net over the second half of the period, while Vasilevskiy has stopped 14 of 15 shots through 40 minutes for the Russians.

New York Islanders prospect Ryan Strome of the Niagara Ice Dogs gave the team representing the Ontario Hockey League a 1-0 lead against Team Russia after the first period of Game 4 of the Canadian Hockey League Subway Super Series in Sarnia, Ontario.

Strome, the OHL's top scorer with 37 points in 21 games, started the play with a long stretch pass out of his own end to the Russian blue line before skating hard to the offensive zone. After Ottawa Senators prospect Matt Puempel corralled a loose puck, he found the streaking Strome alone in the slot for a one-time slap shot that trickled through Russian goaltender Andrey Vasilevskiy at 9:47 of the first.

That goal came about 30 seconds after Minnesota Wild prospect Tyler Graovac of the Ottawa 67s hit the goal post to the left of Vasilevskiy, a Tampa Bay Lightning first round draft pick last June. Vasilevskiy then made a stop on Washington Capitals draft pick Tom Wilson of the Plymouth Whalers to keep the game scoreless, although it was short-lived.

BOISBRIAND, Quebec – Andre Tourigny wanted to see what top draft prospect Nathan MacKinnon could do on the wing in case that’s where the star Halifax Mooseheads center may be needed on the Canadian team that will play at the next World Junior Championships.

After one game, MacKinnon’s switch to the wing can still be described as a work in progress.

MacKinnon played for the first time on left wing for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team that lost Game 1 of the Subway Super Series 6-2 on Monday night on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Jean-Sebastien Dea, a line Tourigny was expecting to produce some offense against a powerful Russian team.

Except Huberdeau and MacKinnon finished the game a minus-4 while Dea was a minus-3, a situation Tourigny says can’t continue in Game 2 of the series Wednesday night in Val D’Or.

BOISBRIAND, Quebec – Mikhail Grigorenko knows the 6-2 final score makes it look like his Russian team completely dominated its counterpart from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Monday night, but he doesn’t feel it’s a true reflection of how Game 1 of the Subway Super Series was played.

In fact, the Quebec Remparts center feels the game was played rather evenly in spite of the most lopsided Russian win in this series since 2007.

“We played the way our coach wanted us to play,” the Buffalo Sabres prospect said. “I think for the Quebec guys a lot of them had games yesterday so they were probably a little bit tired. I think the next game will be a lot tougher and it will be more of a challenge.”

BOISBRIAND, Quebec – Talk about a statement game.

Led by a goal and assist from Mikhail Grigorenko, Nail Yakupov, Maxim Shalunov and Valentin Zykov, Team Russia trounced the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League All-Stars 6-2 in Game 1 of the Subway Super Series in front of a disappointed crowd of 3,173 at the Centre Excellence Rousseau on Monday night.

The four-goal margin was the largest in a victory for the Russian select team since a 5-1 win against the Western Hockey League All-Stars in 2007, a span of 25 games. It also marked the fifth straight win for Team Russia against the QMJHL in the history of the series.

The star for the Russian squad was goaltender Andrey Vasilevskiy, who was named player of the game for Team Russia. He made an incredible glove save off Jean-Sebastien Dea in the dying seconds of the first period and made a number of other spectacular saves among his 28 on the night.

BOISBRIAND, Quebec – A 5-on-3 power play goal by Detroit Red Wings prospect Xavier Ouellet got the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on the board, but the continued excellence of Andrey Vasilevskiy in the Russian net and goals by Maxim Shalunov and Mikhail Naumenkov allowed Team Russia to enter the second intermission with a 4-1 lead in Game 1 of the Subway Super Series.

Team QMJHL outshot Russia 11-6 in the second period and 23-15 after 40 minutes, but Vasilevskiy has made a number of highlight-worthy saves to frustrate the Quebec league players time and again.

Buffalo Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko assisted on Naumenkov’s goal at 17:35 of the second period to give him a goal and an assist in the contest, and he’s created a number of scoring chances in a standout performance through two periods.

BOISBRIAND, Quebec – Team Russia’s two biggest stars took advantage of a pair of turnovers by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after one period of Game 1 of the Subway Super Series.

The Quebec Remparts’ Mikhail Grigorenko, a Buffalo Sabres prospect taken 12th at the 2012 NHL Draft, beat Blainville-Boisbriand Armada goaltender Etienne Marcoux at 9:49 of the first period off a 2-on-1 break created by a turnover by Halifax Mooseheads star Nathan MacKinnon.

Just over a minute later, Edmonton Oilers prospect Nail Yakupov – the top pick in the 2012 draft – picked off an errant clearing attempt in the QMJHL zone and his low slap shot from the high slot beat Marcoux to the far side just inside the post at 11:03 of the period.

BOISBRIAND, Quebec – Here are the expected line combinations for the team representing the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Team Russia in Game 1 of the Subway Super Series at the Centre Excellence Sports Rousseau.

The player’s NHL affiliation is in brackets, or if he is undrafted his draft year is in brackets.

TEAM QMJHL

Forwards

Jonathan Huberdeau (Fla) – Jean-Sebastien Dea (2013) – Nathan MacKinnon (2013)

William Carrier (2013) – Cedric Paquette (TB) – Anthony Mantha (2013)

Francis Beauvillier (Fla) – Philip Danault (Chi) – Charles Hudon (Mtl)

Samuel Henley (2013) – Brent Andrews (Nas) – Ryan Tesnik (StL)

Christopher Clapperton (2013)

Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported Monday that the Canadiens are not only out of the running to sign free agent forward Jaromir Jagr, but they haven't even spoken to him since free agency opened Sunday at noon.

Jagr's agent Petr Svoboda tells La Presse that several teams are interested in retaining Jagr's services, but he unequivocally shot down the rumors that one of them was the Canadiens.

"There is nothing going on between us and the Canadiens," Svoboda told the newspaper.

The Canadiens were believed to be in the running to sign Jagr last summer, along with the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, before he finally chose to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers for one year and $3.3 million.

Jagr, 40, had 54 points in 73 games with the Flyers last season along with eight points in 11 playoff games.