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

The penultimate day of round-robin play at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey provided some opportunities for teams to secure spots in the semifinals at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Group B leader Sweden needed just one point Wednesday to clinch the No. 1 seed in the group, while a win for Team North America would force Russia to do the same Thursday night.

If the two teams tie for the final Group B spot, Russia will advance thanks to its head-to-head win over North America. 

Host Canada and Team Europe have already punched their tickets out of Group A, but the winner will head to the semifinals as the top seed.

Here are the updated results from Wednesday night:

Team	Team	Result
North America	Sweden	4-3 NA (OT)
Europe	Canada	4-1 CAN

This is how Wednesday's contests affected the standings:

Group A	Team	Points	Regulation Wins	GD
Group B	Team	Points	Regulation Wins	GD
1	Canada*	6	3	11
2	Europe*	4	2	1
3	Czech Republic	1	0	-7
4	United States	0	0	-5
1	Sweden*	5	2	2
2	North America	4	1	3
3	Russia	2	1	E
4	Finland	0	0	-5

Team North America 4, Sweden 3 (OT)

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon capped off a frantic final group-stage game for North America with a game-winning backhanded breakaway goal in the final minute of overtime to give the under-23 side its second win of the tournament.

Fighting for a chance to reach the semifinals, North America saw a pair of two-goal leads evaporate during regulation against Sweden, setting the stage for MacKinnon's winner, via the NHL:

Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski couldn't believe it:

It capped off a white-knuckle overtime period that saw both teams create golden chances while keeping viewers such as Sportsnet's Dan Robson at the edge of their seats:

Sweden and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was coming off a 36-save shutout against Finland on Tuesday, but he didn't come close to that kind of success Wednesday. 

Just 30 seconds into the game, the 2016 NHL draft's No. 1 overall pick, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, put North America up 1-0. 

Paired with Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid, last year's No. 1 overall pick, Matthews put on a puck-handling clinic from his knees, got up and sent a laser of a cross-ice pass to McDavid, whose one-time shot was saved by Lundqvist but pushed right to the stick of Matthews. 

With an easy tap-in, North America was up 1-0.

Global News' Anthony Bruno was floored by the 19-year-old, who is preparing for his first NHL season:

Sportsnet's Michael Grange was already predicting a bright future for Matthews:

After Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames missed a penalty shot, it became 2-0 just 1:05 after Matthews' goal, when Florida Panthers center Vincent Trocheck cleaned up a rebound in front of Sweden's goal with a backhander.

Sports Illustrated's Peter Roumeliotis tried to use emojis to describe how impressive the under-23 North Americans were:

CBC's Monika Platek couldn't believe the impressive Swedes were being outplayed:

Sweden managed to find an answer with 11:36 left in the first, when a wrist shot by Nashville Predators star Filip Forsberg went under the arm of North America and Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson. 

Josh Rubin of the Toronto Star found Gibson's save attempt to be lackluster:

Former NHL defenseman Brendan Witt was pleased that the Swedes fought back to stymie North America's momentum, and he celebrated with a Muppet:

But Gaudreau was presented with another breakaway opportunity and didn't miss. After getting Lundqvist to hit the ice, Gaudreau deked to his favored left hand to slot the puck past the outstretched foot of the Swedish goalie:

The New Jersey native provided some hope for the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Lazerus, who was still reeling after the United States' dreadful performance at the World Cup of Hockey:

Washington Capitals winger Nicklas Backstrom, who started the transition play that resulted in Forsberg's goal, brought Sweden back to within one when pinpoint puck movement presented him with a wide-open net as Gibson was caught on his right post.

With Morgan Rielly as the only line of defense, the Swede's shot deflected off the blueliner's foot and went in with 3:32 left in the period.

During the final two minutes of the period, McDavid had another breakaway, but his backhander grazed off Lundqvist's crossbar.

North America's sixth breakaway of the period had NHL.com's Dan Rosen amazed at the young Oilers phenom:

While the first period supplied five goals, the second period was dominated by the goaltenders, specifically Lundqvist.

North America unleashed 21 shots on Sweden's goal, but The King showed why he is one of the NHL's best and kept each shot out.

Sweden managed to tie things up with 13:10 left in the third, when Patrik Berglund of the St. Louis Blues tipped in a shot from the point by Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson. 

Berglund, who was scratched from Sweden's previous two games, announced his arrival to the tournament in a big way, allowing the Blues to have some fun and celebrate:

A pair of late North American penalties didn't do much to ease the pressure, but the squad managed to kill both of them off to ensure the game would go to overtime.

Lundqvist came up huge when Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets centered a pass in front of Sweden's goal. McDavid managed to redirect the chance toward the goal, but a strong right-pad save kept the puck out of the net. 

Gibson came up just as big with a minute left, when he stoned Vancouver Canucks star Daniel Sedin on a breakaway, giving MacKinnon a chance to send home the game-winner.

With the point, Sweden secured first place in Group A. However, North America will need Finland to beat Russia on Thursday.

Post-Game Reaction

MacKinnon kept it short and sweet when describing his game winner, via Sportsnet:

However he did regret his celebration seeing as North America didn't clinch a semifinal spot as of yet, via Wyshynski:

North America head coach Todd McLellan sang his team's praises as its group play finished up, via the Edmonton Oilers:

Now the youngsters will have to play the waiting game and rooting for Finland in the process if they want a shot of playing in the semifinals.

Canada 4, Europe 1

Canada wrapped up its round-robin play in style with a comfortable three-goal victory on end Wednesday's action from Toronto. 

Captain Canada Sidney Crosby, who is fresh off of winning a second Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, put the hosts up 4:01 into the game when his wrap-around attempt was too quick for Europe and New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak, via the NHL:

Crosby's chance came when Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's shot ricocheted off the boards right into the captain's path.

Wyshynski found it unnatural: 

Canada's lead should have been much more, but Halak continued to state his case as to why he should be the tournament's most valuable player, making a pair of close-range saves on the Tampa Bay Lightning's Steven Stamkos and Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, via Team Europe.

Sports Illustrated's Michael Blinn took the opportunity to introduce any fans that were unfamiliar with the Islanders goalie:

It all came crumbling down in the final minute of the first though when Halak left his net to try and play the puck. His pass went up the right boards and directly to Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche.

The man who scored two goals against the United States on Tuesday night threw the puck toward the net where Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was waiting to finish past an out-of-position Halak, via Sportsnet:

Europe pulled one back 4:39 into the second period when Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa beat his NHL teammate and Canada goalie Corey Crawford, who was filling in for the resting Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. 

With Hossa coming down the left wing, Crawford left the near post open in anticipation of playing the pass. Instead, the veteran Hossa managed to squeeze in a shot through the small amount of space left by the Canadian goalie. 

For Michael Castillo of FanSided, it was a comical gaffe by Crawford to give up a goal to the 37-year-old Hossa:

Keeping up with the Blackhawks theme, Toews canceled out Hossa's goal with 5:12 to go in the second when a European turnover was caused when Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi broke his stick at the point. 

With Canada gaining possession, Josi was the lone defenseman back for Europe without a stick, creating a virtual 2-on-0 chance. 

Alongside San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture, Toews decided to shoot, snapping a wrister past Halak. 

But ESPN's Pierre LeBrun took a moment to point out that Canada was not clicking on all cylinders:

Regardless of a lackadaisical period, Canada still outshot Europe 30-9 after 40 minutes. 

While it played a more defensive brand of hockey to close out the win, Canada added a fourth in the third period when Couture was able to wrist a shot home on a 4-on-4 scenario. 

Europe will take on Sweden in the semifinals, but Canada will have to wait for Thursday's game between Russia and Finland to find out if it will take on Alex Ovechkin and Co. or the young guns of North America. 

Post-Game Reaction

Even if it wasn't the most impressive Canadian performance, head coach Mike Babcock was happy with the way Toews and Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron have played during this tournament, via TSN's Mark Masters:

But he was quick to add that his team wasn't at their best:

Looking ahead, Babcock also tipped his hand on who he would rather play and it looked like he didn't want any part of North America, via Chris Johnston of Sportsnet:

Given that his team hasn't really been challenged over its first three games, it might not matter who Canada faces in the next two rounds as it has been the most impressive team at the World Cup of Hockey.