World Cup of Hockey: North America vs Finland recap, full highlights

Team North America put on an impressive show against Finland by beating them 4-1 in the World Cup of Hockey.

Expectations for Team North America were high entering group play at the World Cup of Hockey. Going up against an experienced Finland team, North America managed to exceed those expectations with a 4-1 victory. North America’s high octane offense was on full display in the second period, as they scored three goals in under 10 minutes, including two in just over two minutes.

Team North America got goals from Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon. The final score doesn’t tell the whole story because it could have been a lot worse. North America had three very close goals turned away in the first period. North America netminder Matt Murray had an active first period with 12 saves, but held his own as North America dominated play after the first few minutes.

They dictated play with their quick transition offense. North America’s greatest strength is their forward depth and they take advantage of that. Credit must be given to their defense for being much better after the first period. After giving up 12 shots in the first period, they only gave up six in the second period.

Related Story: Each NHL Team's Biggest What If Moment

Finland got overmatched by a team with far more talent. That’s quite telling because Finland has done well in recent international tournaments.

Rasmus Ristolainen and Mikko Koivu were two of the few bright spots on Finland. Pekka Rinne had a rough game for Finland and got lucky on a few near-misses by North America. Only Valtteri Filppula’s late third period goal kept Finland from getting shutout.

North America improves to 1-0-0 in the World Cup. They will face Russia on Monday Sept. 19 at 8:00 PM EST. Finland falls to 0-1-0 at the World Cup and will face Sweden on Tuesday Sept. 20.