MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Defenseman Ryan Ellis scored in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 comeback victory over defending champion Sweden at the at the ice hockey world championship on Sunday, while two goals from Tyler Johnson lifted the United States 3-1 over Finland.
In the late games, star forward Alex Ovechkin sustained a right leg injury during Russia’s 3-0 win over Germany and taken to a hospital for check-ups, while the Czech Republic overcame Norway 1-0.
After a stunning loss to France in its tournament opener, Canada has answered with five consecutive wins and took the lead in Group A ahead of Sweden with one more game to play before the knockout stage.
Ellis netted 2:38 into overtime on a breakaway after second-period goals from Brayden Schenn and captain Kevin Bieksa on a power play erased Sweden’s 2-0 lead.
“Good play by (Mark) Scheifele,” Ellis said about his teammate, who assisted with his goal. “The patience from Scheifele was unbelievable for such a young guy. He put it right on my tape and I just had to touch it.”
Joakim Lindstrom and Linus Klasen scored the Swedish goals.
Swedish goaltender Anders Nilsson saved a penalty shot by Jonathan Huberdeau in the first period.
In the other early game, Johnson scored in the third to make it 2-0 with a wrist shot and added his second into an empty net with 46 seconds left for the U.S. to move into the second place in Group B. Russia’s victory then secured the Americans a place among the top four teams which advance to the quarterfinals from each group.
“It was a good game by our team,” Johnson said. “Obviously, it was a must win for us to advance.”
Brock Nelson opened the scoring just 19 seconds into the game when goaltender Pekka Rinne wanted to play the puck behind his goal but it deflected off the boards to Nelson right in front of the empty net to knock it in.
“It was a crazy bounce,” Nelson said. “You’ve got to be ready for anything. It was a good start for us. We did a solid job of playing smart defensively in this game compared with some of the previous (ones).”
Tuukka Mantyla cut the U.S. lead to 2-1 with 3:14 remaining in regulation.
Ovechkin took a hit to his right knee from forward Marcus Kink midway through the third period and the Washington Capitals star stayed on the ice for several minutes before he needed assistance to leave the ice.
Russia coach Oleg Znarok said couldn’t “share any information now” about the injury, and that more details would be disclosed after Ovechkin was examined.
Germany held Russia at bay for two periods before Vadim Shipachyov finally netted 3:58 into the third on a power play. Sergei Shirokov added the second and Viktor Tikhonov scored into an empty net for his seventh goal in Minsk.
Russia’s 19-year-old goalie Andrei Vasilevski stopped 27 shots for the shutout.
Vladimir Sobotka scored the lone goal 39 seconds into the game for the Czechs to move to the third position in Group A. Norway is tied for fourth with France and Slovakia.
Czech goaltender Alexander Salak saved a penalty shot in the second and made 21 saves for the shutout.
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