Team USA defeats Team Finland
T.J. Oshie scores, Jonathan Quick makes 30 saves in final pretournament game
© Patrick Smith/Getty Images
By
Katie Brown / NHL.com Correspondent
"We were cleaner," Tortorella said after Team USA defeated Team Finland 3-2 at Verizon Center on Tuesday. "Have we got it all figured out? No. And we probably won't get it all figured out. It's just not enough time to cover all the things we'd like to cover, so we just keep on banging away here and see if we can get better each day."
T.J. Oshie, Ryan Kesler and Derek Stepan scored, and Jonathan Quick made 30 saves for Team USA. Patrik Laine and Jussi Jokinen scored, and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for Team Finland.
Oshie gave Team USA a 1-0 lead 1:08 into the first period. He scored from the bottom of the left circle off a behind-the-net feed from Ryan Kesler.
Kesler made it 2-0 at 3:37 of the second period. John Carlson started the play with an outlet pass to Max Pacioretty, who fed Blake Wheeler with a backhand pass. Wheeler sent the pass to Kesler streaking down the wing.
Stepan gave Team USA a 3-0 lead at 5:34 of the period. Carlson tipped the puck to Stepan from over the blue line and Stepan scored through Rinne's pads.
Laine scored a power-play goal to make it 3-1 at 11:22 of the third period. He took a pass from Sami Vatanen and scored on Quick from the top of the left circle.
"Patrik played his best game in these three exhibition games, and it is good for us and of course [an] important goal for him," Team Finland coach Lauri Marjamaki said of the Winnipeg Jets rookie. "I think that his confidence [is] getting better and he can use his strengths in [the] tournament."
Jokinen made it 3-2 with 4:23 remaining. Rasmus Ristolainen put a shot on goal and Jokinen tipped in the rebound.
Tortorella said Quick would start the first preliminary round game against Team Europe in Toronto on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports).
Goal of the game: Oshie, a Washington Capitals forward, scored in his home rink. Kesler went behind the net and Oshie fought off two defenders as he lifted the puck past Rinne.
Save of the game: Rinne stopped Patrick Kane on a breakaway with three seconds left in the first period. Kane picked off Olli Maata in the neutral zone and skated into the zone alone. He tried to fake Rinne with several dekes but Rinne blocked him with a pad save.
Unsung moment of the game: Carlson didn't get an assist on the play that led to Kesler's goal in the first period but his outlet pass to Pacioretty put the play in motion. Pacioretty was able to get the puck to Wheeler, who sprung Kesler for the goal that gave Team USA a 2-0 lead.
Highlight moment of the game: Laine's goal on the power play in the third period was as good as it gets. From the top of the left circle, Laine slapped home a pass from Vatanen and got Team Finland's late rally started.
They said it
"For really a good portion of the whole game, there was a lot of good stuff. I thought our structure throughout our whole game was good. We had some minutes where we struggled, but it gave [Quick] some work too. At the end it was good for that to be happening in front of him as we get ready to play starting the tournament on Saturday." -- Team USA coach John Tortorella
"Third [period] was our best. We still don't play so solid [for] 60 minutes. It is understandable because this is that kind of process, and I think we are on time, our process and team knows that we want to be ready for Sunday when we start the tournament (against Team North America). A lot of good things, but that last two minutes 6-on-4 was great for us, but Quick was [a] great goalie." -- Team Finland coach Lauri Marjamaki
"I think the boys feel tournament-ready. Everyone really felt comfortable with the position that they were given and the ice time that they got and the matchups that they got. That's really important in a short tournament. That probably was the most comfortable we've felt and that's going to be obviously the case after a back-to-back after four months off." -- Team USA forward Max Pacioretty
Need to know
Team USA forward Dustin Byfuglien switched from defenseman to forward; he had two shots on goal in 10:32 of ice time. … Team Finland forward Teuvo Teravainen was a healthy scratch; Sebastian Aho replaced him in the lineup. … Team USA was 2-1 in pretournament play; Team Finland was 1-2.
What's next
Team USA: Will begin the tournament against Team Europe at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports).
Team Finland: Will begin the tournament against Team North America at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports).
