Canada survives 1st test with win over Finland

Sam Reinhart scored two goals and his linemate Anthony Duclair had another as Canada stayed perfect at the world junior championship with a 4-1 victory over Finland on Monday night.

Curtis Lazar also scored and Max Domi had a pair of assists for Canada (3-0-0), which ends group stage play with a showdown against the United States (2-0-1) for first place on Wednesday.

"It's every line every night, at least for the generating (scoring chances) part of it," said Reinhart. "We were able to carry the momentum through all four lines and that's what's needed in a tournament like this."

Montreal Canadiens prospect Artturi Lehkonen scored for Finland (0-2-1), which must beat Germany on Wednesday to advance to the quarter-finals. The Finns have scored only once in each game and are 0-for-13 on the power play in the tournament.

Canada, which outshot Finland 36-28, avenged a 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinals of last year's world juniors in Malmo, Sweden.

"I don't think any more or any less," Reinhart responded when asked how important it was to defeat the Finns after falling to them last year. "It's always good at this stage. We knew they're a good team and they'd come out with a good effort. we're certainly happy with our performance and the win."

Canada got the opening goal 5:32 into the game when Reinhart fed Shea Theodore at the point and then tapped his rebound past Juuse Saros.

The crowd roared when Julius Honka tied up Domi for a moment in a corner. But when they got up, Domi slipped a cross-ice pass to Duclair, whose pass in front was defected over Saros by Reinhart for his second of the game and of the tournament.

The Finns got one back when Samuel Morin misplayed a puck in his zone and Lehkonen jumped on it and banged his own rebound past Zach Fucale with 1:34 left in the second frame. It was the first goal allowed by Canada, which has outscored its opponents 16-1.

Domi took the puck hard to the net and Duclair was on the doorstep to lift in his rebound 11:15 into the third frame.

Saros dropped a Josh Morrissey point shot and Lazar poked in the loose puck on a power play at 14:25 to make it 4-1.

It was a strong game for Fucale, who made a big stop on a Roope Hintz breakaway in the first minute and a handful more big saves. Saros was just as good in the other net, and got a break when Domi hit a post from the slot in the middle period.

"We knew it would be a hard fought game and we were ready for that," said Fucale. "We were very confident coming into the game. we played a strong team game."

The open flow of the game was a surprise as the Finns went on attack after falling behind early. There was a stretch of more than five minutes without a whistle in the first period that featured big scoring chances at both ends.