It initially appeared Plekanec had a sure tying goal in front of him when he took the return pass from Jakub Voracek on the odd-man rush. But Bobrovsky read the play and got over to the right post in time to at least cover the lower part of the net.
"It's an empty net. It's got to be a goal," Plekanec said. "He made a great save though. He was there quick. I hit it right away. It was a one-timer to the net. I should have put it upstairs, but it was a great save."
Bobrovsky, who turns 28 on Sept. 20, made 29 saves, including 12 in the third period when Team Russia was outshot 14-5. He seemed to want back Michal Kempny's left-point shot that beat him to the short side 3:54 into the game.
Other than that, he was solid and clutch. He certainly couldn't be blamed for the power-play goal credited to Martin Hanzal that pulled Team Czech Republic to within 3-2 at 6:48 of the third period. Hanzal was attempting to make a behind-the-back centering pass and the puck caromed in off the left leg of Team Russia defenseman Alexey Marchenko.
After Evgeny Dadonov put Team Russia ahead 4-2 with his one-timer from the right circle, Bobrovsky was victimized again when Roman Polak's right-point shot hit Plekanec in the pants and went into the net.
Bobrovsky admitted to feeling some rust, understandable considering he hadn't played since Russia defeated the United States in the World Championship bronze-medal game on May 22.
"It was a weird feeling to be honest, but it was the first game," Bobrovsky said. "I felt better as the game went on."
