Aleksi Ainali and Janne Puhakka connected for goals in the third period to give Finland a 4-2 victory against the United States in the 2013 Five Nations Tournament on Wednesday at Kinnarps Arena in Jonkoping, Sweden.

Ainali, rated No. 68 on NHL Central Scouting's list of 2013 draft-eligible European skaters, converted a feed from Puhakka 2:50 into the third to snap a 2-2 tie. Puhakka, No. 84 on the European list, then scored off a pass from Ainali 11:18 into the frame to close out the scoring for the Finns, who received a stellar 36-save performance from Central Scouting's top-ranked European goalie, Juuse Saros.

Tyler Kelleher, who was named Team USA's player of the game, scored both goals for the Americans. Hunter Miska, No. 38 on Central Scouting's midterm list of the top North American goaltenders, made 18 saves for the United States, which will next play the Czech Republic on Friday.

"We had a number of chances but just couldn't convert," U.S. coach Don Granato said. "We'll take [Thursday] to regroup and focus our efforts on facing the Czech Republic."

MONTREAL – There was a time in Montreal when people believed Carey Price was washed up, that the No. 5 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft was a bust, that he wasn't committed enough to become the type of elite NHL goaltender to which Canadiens fans had become so accustomed.

That time was as recently as 2010.

Carey Price was 22 years old.

Throughout that period, Price always insisted most NHL goaltenders don't hit their prime until they turn 27 or 28, that he had a lot of learning left to do and that fans needed to show some patience.

Well, as it turns out, perhaps Canadiens fans didn't need to be quite as patient as he first anticipated.

Now 25, Price appears to be entering his prime years as an NHL goaltender, a beneficiary of an accelerated development plan put in place by former general manager Bob Gainey that has resulted in the young goaltender already playing 278 regular-season games – and learning a little something from each and every one of them.

It's fitting that the NHL's longest-running feud begins its latest chapter on Wednesday Night Rivalry.

No two Eastern Conference teams have played each other more often in the regular season than the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. They'll meet Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS), for the 718th time in a series that has seen the Canadiens win 345 games and the Bruins go home happy 269 times (the other 103 ended in ties before the adoption of the shootout in 2005). The teams have also squared off in 33 playoff series, far more than any other two teams in League history, and they've battled in an NHL-record eight Game 7s.

Regardless of who's in the lineup or where the game is being played, these two teams don't like each other. Here's a statistical look at two teams who've been battling since their first meeting on Dec. 8, 1924.

Every Wednesday during the season, NHL.com Correspondent Brian Metzer will provide you with an in-depth analysis of fantasy defensemen in our weekly segment: "On the 'D'-fence." From updated defensemen rankings to guys you should keep a close eye on and much more, Metzer will be your fantasy d-man expert all season long.

Shea Weber

Defense - NSH

GOALS: 0 | ASST: 0 | PTS: 0
SOG: 22 | +/-: 1

Weber, who is in his eighth NHL season, has led the way not only in the defensive zone, but on the score sheet as he has become one of the best two-way blueliners in the League. He and former partner Ryan Suter, who departed for the Minnesota Wild during unrestricted free agency this past summer, combined to score 26 goals and 95 points last season. This makes it even more shocking to consider that Weber has yet to notch a point through his team's first nine games of the season.

For Curtis Valk, the road to success hasn't been a sprint. More like a nice walk that has turned into a gradual jog, and continues to pick up speed as he goes.

After two seasons of waiting for his opportunity, the 5-foot-9, 160-pound Medicine Hat forward has made the most of it. He's seventh in the Western Hockey League with 32 goals and 10th with 67 points, and his 11 power-play goals lead the team.

"I think his commitment and his hockey sense and his work ethic have allowed him to gradually become the player that he's become," Medicine Hat coach Shaun Clouston told NHL.com. "It always seems like it’s a breakout, but we've seen him at 17 and at 18 and now at 19. For the outsiders it's like all of a sudden something changed, but for me he's continually worked at getting better and better, and now everything is lined up -- the opportunity, a little bit of extra strength. He understands how he has to play. It's just been a great season for him."

Jeff Sauer spent decades coaching men's hockey at Colorado College and the University of Wisconsin, winning nearly 500 games and two national championships, but these days he finds himself rejuvenated and his love for the game strong as ever through his work with both the United States Deaflympics and the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.

Sauer, who began his collegiate coaching career more than 40 years ago as an assistant to the legendary "Badger" Bob Johnson, is in the process of putting together a team to play at the World Deaf Championship in Finland at the end of March. He first became involved with the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association when it was established back in the 1970s by Chicago Blackhawks great Stan Mikita, and has been marveling at the accomplishments of its players ever since.

Life as a hockey parent isn't easy.

In addition to the rising expense of equipment and ice time, there's a commitment to travel and setting alarms for early-morning wakeups every weekend during the travel hockey season.

It's an unforgiving process, but one that can be extremely rewarding for our sons and daughters if done properly.

"I always tell parents the one thing they should expect out of their kids is attitude and effort in the early stages of learning the game," said Jon Greenwood, the director of hockey development at the Maritime Hockey Academy in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Author and youth hockey advice columnist Christie Casciano Burns admits there are two areas every hockey parent should take into consideration in the early stages of youth hockey development.

NEWARK, N.J. -- The minute rookie J.T. Miller was selected by the New York Rangers in the 2011 NHL Draft, center Derek Stepan took a vested interest.

The common thread, of course, is that both Stepan and Miller have celebrated gold medal-winning triumphs at the World Junior Championship.

"I knew he would be a guy who would have a chance to win a gold medal for the United States at the World Junior Championship," Stepan told NHL.com. "It was pretty cool to watch and definitely something you reflect back on if you had an opportunity to participate in one."

NEWARK -- While the effort and opportunities are undeniably present for New York Rangers forward Rick Nash, the results remain few and far between.

The frustration on the face of Nash following his team's 3-1 loss to the rival New Jersey Devils on Tuesday before 17,625 at Prudential Center told the story.

There were signs that, perhaps, the 28-year-old wing was about to break out of his scoring slump after connecting for his second goal of the season on Saturday in a victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead, Nash finished with a season-low minus-2 rating and had all three of his shots turned away by Devils goalie Martin Brodeur.

Adding insult to injury was the fact the Rangers were powerless with the man advantage, finishing the game 0-for-5 on the power-play.

PHILADELPHIA -- Growing up outside Boston in the 1970s, Rob Zombie was a devoted Boston Bruins fan who watched his team play the Broad Street Bullies-era Philadelphia Flyers in the 1974 Stanley Cup Final.

"I was a massive hockey fan," Zombie said. "I always played hockey, I always wanted to play hockey, always loved hockey."

He was asked if he remembered who won that 1974 Final series Tuesday during a press conference at Wells Fargo Center by one of the stars of that Flyers team, Hall of Famer Bernie Parent.

"Go see the movie," Zombie said with a laugh.

Parent and the rest of the hockey world will be able to see just how things happened for those memorable Flyers teams in the 1970s thanks to Zombie, who will be directing a feature film on the Broad Street Bullies.