World Cup of Hockey 2016 Results: Scores, Highlights and Reaction from Tuesday

Tuesday provided a pair of do-or-die matchups for two teams at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey from Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

In Group B, Finland needed to beat Sweden to have a realistic shot of staying alive in the tournament, while the United States will have to beat Canada later on Tuesday night to ensure that it would still have a chance of making it out of Group A.  

Here are the updated results from Tuesday:

Team	Team	Result
Sweden	Finland	2-0 SWE
Canada	United States	4-2 CAN

Sweden 2, Finland 0

In a rematch of the 2014 Winter Olympic semifinals from Sochi, Russia, a second-period goal from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman lifted Sweden to a 2-0 win past its rival Finland on Tuesday.  

It was a story of the goaltenders for most of the game. Finland's Tuukka Rask, who plays for the Boston Bruins, along with Sweden and New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist, stopped a combined 61 of 62 shots.

Through the first 30 minutes of the game, the two stopped all 25 shots that came their way.  

The lack of scoring had Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski looking toward the stands for some more entertainment:

However, there was plenty of attention being garnered by this year's No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Finland's Patrik Laine, whom the Winnipeg Jets selected.

Despite not playing a single NHL game yet, the 18-year-old showed tons of promising attacking prowess that impressed NHL.com's Dan Rosen:

With 10:03 left in the second period, Sweden got on the board through Stralman, who rushed toward the front of the net and received a beauty of a pass from Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin from behind the goal. Stralman one-timed the chance low and past the left side of Rask.

Henrik's brother, Daniel, who also plays for the Canucks, recorded the secondary assist by meandering out toward Rask's right and sending the puck off the boards behind the net to his brother, via Sportsnet: 

While Rask's defenses broke, Lundqvist remained stout, blocking away all of Finland's 36 shots.

With Finland desperate for a goal, it pulled Rask for an extra attacker in the final minutes. Instead, the Canucks' Loui Eriksson iced the game for Sweden.

As he was draped by a defender, he was able to slot an empty-net goal from almost 20 feet out with three seconds remaining to help all but clinch Sweden's spot in the semifinals.

Finland isn't officially eliminated as of yet, but it will need to win its final game of the group stage against North America by three or more goals and have Russia lose to Sweden. 

Post-Game Reaction

With two wins under its belt, Sweden looks set to move to the semifinals. But Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson believed that his team could hit another level, via Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Riding their goaltender, Sweden head coach Rickard Gronborg was quick to give credit to Ludqvist, who recently overcame an illness to get back in the crease, via Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press:

Even better news for Swedes everywhere is that Lundqvist said he felt good after the game "ready to play back-to-back games," per ESPN.com's Joe McDonald. 

With a quick turnaround coming on Wednesday in the form of a matchup with Team North America, Lundqvist will have to be on the top of his game once again to stymie a young, flashy attack that holds the future of the NHL.

Canada 4, United States 2

Canada reminded all hockey fans why it is the favorite at the World Cup of Hockey in a resounding 4-2 victory over the United States to cap off Tuesday's action. 

After giving up the first goal, Canada scored four unanswered during the first and second periods to earn an easy win. 

For a team that hadn't scored in its previous three games at major competitions, it was imperative for the United States to get out to a solid start. 

It did just that 4:21 into the first period when New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh crashed the net and cleaned up a rebound left by Canada and Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, via USA Hockey:

However, the USA advantage evaporated almost instantaneously. Just 1:30 later, a shot from San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic caromed off the boards behind the net to Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene, who simply tapped in the loose puck into an open net. 

USA and Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick had to move to his right post to attempt a save on Vlasic's shot and wasn't able to get to his left post quick enough to stop Duchene. 

Canada landed another punch just 14 seconds later on a two-on-one opportunity when Sharks forward Logan Couture's pass popped up and hit the body of the on-rushing Anaheim Ducks star Corey Perry, who deflected it into the net for a 2-1 lead. 

It had Francois Gagnon of RDS feeling awfully confident:

For John Chidley-Hill of the Canadian Press, power was restored to its rightful place:

Duchene got his second goal of the night with 7:53 left in the first to double Canada's lead. A USA turnover in the defensive zone allowed Sharks defenseman Brent Burns to chip the puck to an uncontested Duchene while U.S. defensemen Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets) and Erik Johnson (Avalanche) were attempting to leave the zone and join a possible attack.

With Duchene all alone on Quick, the forward simply slid his chance through the five-hole.  

It was Canada's sixth shot of the night as Quick just couldn't come up with a big save early on. That was all Jeff Verszyla of KDKA-TV could watch from the Kings net-minder:

Wyshynski couldn't believe what he was seeing:

He also wasn't happy with the pair of USA defensemen trying to leave the zone early:

Sportsnet's Tim and Sid offered an alternative for United States fans:

For a team fighting for its World Cup lives, the U.S. came out tentative in the second period, giving up countless opportunities to shoot the puck and instead, try and execute the extra pass. 

It saw a pair of power plays go by the wayside and allowed Canada to pounce once again. 

New York Islanders captain John Tavares brought out the dangles 8:50 into the second period when he nutmegged Matt Niskanen to drive toward the net.

With the U.S. defense closing in, he slotted the puck to his right where it went off of Boston Bruins power forward Patrice Bergeron, off of the American goal-scorer McDonagh, and into the goal. 

But that goal was all Tavares, who was celebrating his 26th birthday, and Syracuse.com's Brent Axe was impressed:

Rogers NHL GCL provided a look at what the referees saw from the Islanders star:

The Americans came out with plenty of fight in the third period, but four shots that rang off of the post in a four-minute span only heaped on frustration. 

With 2:32 left in the game, T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals pulled one back to make the scoreline somewhat more respectable.

While Canadians celebrated, Americans were fed up with this year's team, including Adam Karp of the Pac 12 Networks:

Even former NHL bruiser Anson Carter, a Canadian, was disgusted by the American team and its roster makeup:

Luckily for him, the United States will only have one more game to play against the Czech Republic during the group stage on Thursday before its World Cup comes to an early end. 

Canada on the other hand will face Team Europe where the winner takes the No. 1 seed out of Group A. 

Post-Game Reaction

In a tournament in which it was originally considered one of the favorites to make the semifinals, the United States' lackluster performance was a shocking one for those around hockey. 

Head coach John Tortorella, who helped piece the team together, tried to explain what went wrong, via James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail: "We gave them a couple of freebies there... I think we let some people down. It's on my watch."

On a roster in which he left off the likes of Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh Penguins), Justin Faulk (Carolina Hurricanes), Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis Blues) and Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay Lightning), Tortorella stayed by his decisions, telling the media that he wouldn't have changed a thing, via Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times. 

One of his best players, Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, came to Torotrella's defense after the game, via Lazerus:

For Canada, its players, especially Duchene, found motivation in the United States' talks about how a powerful brand of hockey would slow the hosts down, via Sportsnet's Shawn McKenzie:

Even with such an impressive win over its largest rival, Canada head coach Mike Babcock wasn't 100-percent pleased with his team's performance.

With its place already clinched in the semifinals, Babcock and Canada has an opportunity to iron out any kinks while resting those that need it.