Cam Atkinson scored two sensational shootout goals, deking goalie Darcy Kuemper
first to the glove side and then the stick side, giving the U.S. a 5-4 win over
Canada in the opening game of the 2018 World Championship.

Jordan Eberle got one goal in the shootout, but when he followed Atkinson to take a second shot, Keith Kinkaid made the save to earn the win.

I was ready for the opportunity (with the penalty shots). I usually shoot in Columbus so I am happy that they gave me the opportunity. Luckily it all worked
out, Atkinson said.

In truth, the Americans were fortunate to get to the shootout. The five-minute overtime was dominated by Canada, which won all five faceoffs and controlled the puck virtually from start to finish. Connor McDavid, the best player on the
ice, created several chances and drew a penalty, but he couldn't create the winning goal.

Then, with only a few seconds left, he incurred a penalty, thus eliminating himself from the shootout.

As in the entire game, the Americans proved resilient. They improved after a terrible first period to rally, then take the lead twice. Goalie Keith Kinkaid was by turns excellent and reliable.

Early in the gave wasn't so great, offered winning coach Jeff Blashill. "Keith (Kincaid) kept us in the game. I thought we got better as the time went along. Taking nothing away from our other guys, I thought in the end Keith was our best player."

Canada opened the scoring after just 47 seconds when Pierre-Luc Dubois controlled a loose puck in front and snapped a quick shot past Keith Kinkaid.

It's a good win for us, Atkinson said. "I thought we started slow and showed them maybe too much respect early on. They were able to get some scoring chances but over time we picked up our speed."

Despite dominating the period, it looked like the Americans tied the score midway through the period, but a shot bounced off the post and stayed out. Play
came up ice, and a bad defensive breakdown led to a great chance by Josh Bailey. He was stopped by an even greater pad save by Kinkaid, but Ryan O'Reilly was there to put the puck into the open net at 12:23.

The Americans got a much-needed goal at 13:59 when Anders Lee snapped a shot past the outstretched arm of Kuemper. Showing Danish fans how he scored an incredible 40 goals with the New York Islanders this past season.

Kinkaid kept the score close with another pad save off Anthony Beauvillier on a
breakaway. Canada had the better of shots to the tune of 15-5, but it was only a 2-1 game through 20 minutes.

Sure enough, Canada's lack of touch and Kincaid's fine play gave the Americans some life, and they tied the game in the first minute of the second. A long shot was nicely tipped in front by Chris Kreider. The puck slid through Kuemper's pads where Lee popped the loose puck in at the 43-second mark.

The U.S. took its first lead halfway through, converting a 3-on-2 thanks to a Patrick Kane pass to Johnny Gaudreau. His shot to the short side squeezed under
the arm of Kuemper, and now, despite having a significant edge in scoring chances, Canada was behind a goal.

But with less than three minutes to play, the Canadians got back into the game.
Kinkaid made a rare error, not holding a point shot that hit him in the gut, and Beauvillier was right there to lift the puck in and make it 3-3.

Teams swapped goals in the first half of the third. The U.S. again took the lead, at 3:27, when Dylan Larkin beat Kuemper to the far side again. But McDavid made a sensational pass from the corner to defenceman Colton Parayko in
the slot, and Parayko's one-timer slid between the pads of Kinkaid as he slid over to play the pass.

ANDREW PODNIEKS

http://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/2281/tight-game
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