Despite heading into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead, Canada was actually outshot by their European counterparts 13-9 through the opening 20 minutes. Brad Marchand opened the scoring for the Canadians early in the first and Steven Stamkos scored the eventual game winner 11 minutes later, beating Jaroslav Halak for his first goal of the tournament.
Canada came exploding out of the gates in the second, peppering Halak with 17 shots on goal in the middle frame. Tomas Tatar cut the lead to 2-1 in the second, but Patrice Bergeron added the insurance marker for Canada midway through the third to hold on for the win.
New Habs blue-liner Shea Weber dished out three hits and blocked three shots in his 23:23 of action against Europe.
Team Canada now leads the best-of-three final 1-0 and will have an opportunity to clinch the World Cup Trophy on home ice with a win on Thursday night.
