Video of Day: Jordan Eberle’s tying goal vs Russia

January 4, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

It’s so easy to look back after the fact and say Russia could’ve/should’ve won which was basically what I said last night. Bottom line: They had chances to put it away but the Dmitri Kulikov icing mistake proved costly and then John Tavares throws a backhand on net and a Russian D goes down to block it and it bounces off him right to Jordan Eberle who goes backhand deke to tie it.

The Oilers draft pick had the presence of mind to patiently outwait Vadim Zhelobnyuk scoring his second of the night in front of an ecstatic pro-Canada crowd at Scotia Bank Place saving his country.

That he also went backhand deke in the shootout with Tavares following up to ice it was fitting because they were the two players who combined on the winning play started by Ryan Ellis, who kept the puck in.

Eberle’s heroic goal will go down as one of the most memorable in Canadian WJC history. Combined with the fact it was a classic game against longtime rival Russia and it won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Did the Russians deserve a better fate? Probably as they outplayed Canada playing grittier coming back four different times to tie before Dmitri Klopov scored what looked like the winner with 2:20 left.

However, none of that mattered along with a 36 save performance from Zhelobnyuk because a desperate Canada found a way to tie it forcing sudden death and then the deciding shootout which they prevailed into keep their finals streak alive.

They’ll now aim for a fifth straight gold when they take on a Sweden team who blitzed Russia 5-0 during Round Robin play. So, it promises to be a very good game.

A few players to keep an eye on for the Swedes include Mikael Backlund whose five goals including two in a 5-3 semifinal win over Slovakia pace them. Former Devil pick Mattias Tedenby has five points (1-4-5) and current King Oscar Moller (1-3-4) captains the squad.

On the blueline, Erik Karlsson paces them in scoring with nine points (2-7-9) along with a plus-seven rating. Meanwhile, they get plenty of help from top netminder Jacob Markstrom, who has been outstanding carrying a perfect 4-0 mark with a 1.25 GAA, .954 Save Pct. plus a shutout into the championship game tomorrow night.

Like all other games during the tournament, it can be seen on the NHL Network at 7 ET. If you’re staying home, be sure to check it out!