Vegas Golden Knights: Stone heroics help Team Canada progress

Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone was the hero for Team Canada today after his Overtime goal secured a place in the final four of the IIHF World Championships.

Stone produced the goods when his country needed him the most as the Vegas Golden Knights saw all four of their international stars move on to the semi-finals in Slovakia.

Team Canada beat Switzerland 3-2 following a dramatic finish to secure a place in the final four for the fifth consecutive year.

But it wasn’t always easy for the Canadians who found themselves a goal behind in the first period after Sven Andrighetto converted on the power play.

But Team Canada were level in the middle frame thanks to Stone’s first goal of the day, with Dante Fabbro and Pierre-Luc Dubois getting the helpers.

Switzerland looked to have the last laugh however after New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier scored a power play goal late in the second period, a lead they would hold until the death.

And just as it looked to be quarter-final heartbreak for Team Canada, Stone showed silky mitts once more to feed Damon Severson who sent the game to Overtime with just 0.4 seconds of regulation remaining.

The momentum was firmly on the side of the Canadians and they got their just rewards at 5:07 of Overtime after Stone came up clutch with the winning goal to spark wild celebrations.

Shea Theodore got an assist on Stone’s heroic goal and it has been a sublime tournament for the Golden Knights’ three Canadian representatives.

Stone now has 12 points (seven goals, five assists), Theodore has six points (one goal, five assists) and Jonathan Marchessault has nine points (three goals, six assists).

Team Canada will now take on the Czech Republic in the final four on Saturday, 25 May.

Joining Team Canada in the semi-finals will be Golden Knights forward Nikita Gusev and Team Russia, who beat Team USA in a thrilling 4-3 win to set up a final four showdown against Finland on Saturday.

Gusev has been lights out for Russia all tournament and he was at his best again today, contributing a goal and two assists.

The 26-year-old opened the scoring in the first period thanks to help from Mikhail Sergachyov and Nikita Kucherov, with Sergachyov going on to double Russia’s advantage.

New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei would reply for Team USA, who were unable to claw their way back into the game despite further tucks from Noah Hanifin and Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat, with Kirill Kaprizov and Mikhail Grigorenko both striking to make sure of Russia’s place in the final four.

Gusev’s three points today puts him on 15 overall in the tournament with four goals and 11 assists, placing him fourth on the points scoring leaderboard.

We will have coverage of both Team Canada’s and Russia’s semi-final matches on Saturday, as well as updates on how all four of the Vegas Golden Knights’ contingent fare.