Things looked bleak for Team Canada entering the third period, after Russia scored twice in a 2:34 span midway through the middle stanza. Evgeny Kuznetsov (Washington Capitals) and Nikita Gusev put the goals past Calvin Pickard, but those would be the only two pucks to get by the Colorado Avalanche goaltender.
Pickard finished with 26 saves and benefited from a strong offensive and defensive push from his teammates in the third. Canada outshot Russia 38-28 in the contest and 19-5 in the last stanza.
"It was exciting," Pickard t
old the IIHF's official website
. "Our backs were against the wall going into the third period, and we just regrouped and came out and played our game. Everybody in the building saw it. It was a pretty good clinic, for sure."
The Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele began the comeback with a power-play goal 17 seconds into the third period, but Canada couldn't tie the outing until the game clock had less than five minutes left.
Nathan MacKinnon was the player from Canada to knot the contest 2-2 at 15:07 of the frame. The Avalanche forward lost the puck briefly while stickhandling through the slot, but he regained control and swatted a low shot past netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning).
MacKinnon also assisted on Schiefele's goal and now has 14 points (six goals and eight assists), tied for the second in the tournament.
"We have some weapons," said MacKinnon, crediting his teammates for his offensive production after nine contests. "I'm playing with two 30-plus goal scorers, and I'm just trying to find them out there and they make me better as well. Our power play is clicking, which is huge."
Russia's Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks is the scoring leader at the Worlds with 16 points. He recorded two helpers on Saturday.
Ryan O'Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres scored the game-winner nearly two minutes after MacKinnon's tally to give Canada its first lead, and he assisted on the Flyers' Sean Couturier's empty-net goal with 1:07 left.
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"That was one of the greatest hockey games I've ever been a part of," Canada and Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said to the Canadian Press afterward.
"I thought every single Russian player played as hard as they possibly could, just as every Canadian player (did). When you're playing as hard as you can, that's all you can really ask from the guys."
MacKinnon told the IIHF website after the contest that playing a tight semifinal should benefit Canada as it goes into the championship game on Sunday against Sweden.
"It's better than winning a blowout or a soft game," MacKinnon said. "We came back, we had some adversity, and it didn't stop us. So regardless of what happens tomorrow, we're going to keep pressing and we're really excited."
Avalanche forward Matt Duchene was a member of Canada's last two title runs and will aim to add a third World Championship gold to his trophy case. Duchene is looking to join Eric Brewer as the only Canadian to win three Worlds titles, and the only Team Canada player to do so in three consecutive years.
The Haliburton, Ontario, native is at his sixth World Championship and Sunday's final will mark Duchene's 52nd career game at the tournament, tying Dany Heatley for the second most in Hockey Canada history. Ryan Smythe holds the record with 60 contests.
