Helsinki, Finland – Yevgeni Medvedev and Alexander Radulov scored 1:52 apart in the third period to lift the Russians to a 5-3 win over the United States at the 2013 World Hockey Championship.
Medvedev snapped a 3-3 tie at the 13:35 mark of the final frame. Team USA goaltender Ben Bishop couldn't get his glove on the puck amidst a mad scramble around the crease. The puck wound up squirting free to Medvedev and he was able to fire it through the heavy traffic and past a bewildered Bishop.
Radulov then scored 11 seconds into a power play, hammering a cross-ice pass from Ilya Kovalchuk at 15:27.
The Russians, the reigning gold medalists, overcame a pair of one-goal deficits while improving to 3-0 in Group H play.
Russia opened the scoring in an action-packed first period that featured the teams combining for four goals.
The Americans were going to be called for a minor penalty, but the Russians scored before a Team USA player was able to gain possession of the puck for the whistle to be blown.
Anton Belov unleashed a one-timer from the right point that deflected off an American player's stick and sailed past Bishop's glove at 5:23.
Team USA pulled ahead when captain Paul Stastny beat Russian goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov twice, the latter tally coming on a power play. Stastny was engaged in a net-front battle and chipped home a feed from Craig Smith at 10:58, then he snapped a wrister through a David Moss screen at 13:28.
Kovalchuk, however, tied things up 36 seconds later, ripping a shot from the slot.
The Americans moved back in front in the second period on Matt Hunwick's one- timer that fluttered over Bryzgalov at 7:09, but Alexei Tereshenko drew the Russians on a redirection from close range at 11:19.
Also in Group H action, Austria doubled up Latvia, 6-3.
In Group S play, Canada rode a four-goal first-period outburst to a 7-1 rout of Norway and Denmark topped Slovenia, 3-2, in overtime.
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