Copenhagen 3, Edinburgh 2 – Copenhagen leads series 2-1
Fearsome Shea Weber took a slapshot while his Copenhagen Tridents were on the powerplay late in a 2-2 game and the result was a lead in the game and an eruption of home fans. The Weber goal held up and the Tridents now have a 2-1 series lead against the third seed. Copenhagen did a miraculous job of checking the Capitals’ top line of Rick Nash, John Tavares and Jamie Benn on Sunday. The trio managed a total of just 2 shots on goal in the game, a total remarkably low considering Edinburgh enjoyed 4 powerplay. Overall, the home team outshot Edinburgh 33-19 and they will be looking for the same kind of game on Tuesday, when Game 4 occurs on Copenhagen ice. But they will be playing without another regular as T.J. Brodie joins top-line center Stephen Weiss on the injury list. Seldom-used Erik Gustafsson will fill in for Brodie on defense. Fyodor Tyutin gave a good effort for Edinburgh in Game 3. He was plus 1 and had 5 hits to lead everyone in that department. Coach Randy Carlyle would love to get more play like that from the rest of his Capitals, who need to find an answer against a team they apparently don’t match up well with. Copenhagen has won 7 of the 9 meetings between the two clubs this season.
Helsinki 5, Belfast 3 – Belfast leads series 2-1
The Helsinki Jokerit survived a late Belfast charge Sunday and are back in the series. Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 23 shots in the third period while protecting the one-goal lead that Jokerit earned when Paul Stastny scored in the final minute of the second period. Belfast kind of fell asleep during the first half of the second period. At the time, the Giants had a 2-0 lead in the series and a 3-1 lead in the game. Dan Boyle, Sid Crosby and Matt Moulson all scored in the first period for Belfast. But Jarome Iginla got the ball rolling Helsinki’s way with a stick-side goal that beat Jon Quick. Boone Jenner followed with a game-tying goal and then Jenner made a pretty pass to Stastny on the far side of the net during a Jokerit powerplay. Stastny and Carlo Colaiacovo, who scored in the first period, each have two goals in the series and they account for half of Helsinki’s goals. Belfast’s Crosby played very well in the Helsinki end of the rink, but not so good in the Belfast zone. He fired 10 shots at Lundqvist but was minus 2.
Gothenburg 5, Minsk 0 – Minsk leads series 2-1
The Hussars met up with a determined team and a hot goalie Sunday, making the first half of their stay in Sweden pretty miserable. Pekka Rinne shut out the Hussars, stopping 26 shots. Carey Price of Minsk faced the same number of shots but gave up 5 tallies from 5 different shooters. Zach Parise, Adam Henrique and Carl Hagelin each had 2-point games and Gothenburg’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic was great on defense, blocking 4 shots and finishing with a game-high plus 2 rating. Max Chudinov was just as active for Minsk, but not as successful. He blocked 4 shots and delivered 5 hits, but he had to sit for 5 of the game’s final 12 minutes after getting into a fight with big Mark Fraser. Minsk’s Marius Holtet also showed some frustration when he took a major penalty a minute and a half after the fight. The Gothenburg win snapped a streak of 6 straight Minsk wins in the season series involving the two teams.
Moscow 6, Stockholm 3 – Moscow leads series 3-0
Moscow continued to look dominant over Stockholm, outshooting them 36-15 and pulling away in a second period that they controlled totally. In the three games so far, Spartak has outscored the Eagles 19-5 and outshot them 110-52. The three stars on Sunday were Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and former Inferno Max Pacioretty. Brown assisted on three of Moscow’s first four goals before scoring his first of the series to give Moscow a 5-1 lead in the game. Kopitar and Pacioretty both scored in the game and each has 4 goals in the series. Mike Richards had a goal and an assist for Stockholm and he has played hard all three games. He leads the team in scoring with 3 points, but he’s also near the top of team in penalty minutes and giveaways. Both teams will enter Game 4 healthy. Moscow has won the last 5 meetings involving the two teams.
