Ärzte-Ecke » injured reserve with a knee injury, Allen

MINSK, Belarus -- Finland blanked the Czech Republic 3-0 in the semifinals of the ice hockey world championship on Saturday to set up a final against Russia. Earlier Saturday, Russia beat defending champion Sweden 3-1 in a matchup of the last two title holders to advance to the title game. Finlands Jori Lehtera netted a backhand in the first period before Jarkko Immonen scored on a power play in the second and Lehtera added his second into the empty net in the third. Goaltender Pekka Rinne stopped 20 shots for the shutout. Finland struggled in the group stage, losing three games, and needed a help from Switzerland to advance before eliminated Canada in the quarter-finals. "We had a tough time in the group stage and almost every game was a must win for. Now, weve been able to enjoy the game, nothing to lose" Rinne said. "As a team weve come together and its been great fun. Im really excited about this opportunity." Russia meanwhile, has won all nine of its games at the tournament, and is now one win away from its second title in three years and has a chance to avenge a disappointing loss to Finland in the quarter-finals in the Sochi Olympics. Finland last won the worlds in 2011. "Our team has a character," Russia coach Oleg Znarok said. Showing off its attacking power, Russia rebounded from an opening goal by Oscar Moller just 19 seconds into the game as Sergei Plotnikov and Sergei Shirokov both scored later in the first period. Defenceman Anton Belov drove a slap shot into the net on a rebound to make it 3-1 in the second in front of roaring Russian fans. Russia outshot Sweden 34-23, while goaltender Sergei Bobrovski made big saves to deny Moller and Joakim Lindstrom in the middle period. Danis Zaripov and defenceman Evgeni Medvedev had two assists each and star forward Alex Ovechkin got one assist in his second straight game after recovering from a right leg injury. "I had a new knee brace and felt much better," Ovechkin said. "I cant say I am 100 per cent fit but the situation is that one must be ready for anything. We have one game left and we must do everything to make sure we win." Plotnikov scored from the right circle on a rebound after 13:25 and Shirokov wristed a shot past goaltender Anders Nilsson to put Russia 2-1 ahead with two minutes left in the period. "I dont think we came up to our best level," Nilsson said. "I think they were better than us today, they had more chances and we didnt create enough chances to win." Sweden pulled Nilsson with more than two minutes to play in the third and their advantage increased to six-on-four when Denis Denisov was penalized for interference with 1:40 remaining. But all Swedish hopes ended when Mikael Backlund was ejected for a hit on Plotnikov. That incident prompted angry exchanges between Znarok and a Swedish team official. Sweden and the Czechs now have to recover for Sundays bronze medal game. "Its not the medal we wanted to play for the last game but we dont want to go home empty handed," Sweden forward Gustav Nyquist said. Baltimore Orioles Pro Shop . Not that he was complaining. Davis had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocks, and the New Orleans Pelicans emphatically snapped a three-game skid with a 135-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. Fake Orioles Jerseys . He had spent 16 days on the disabled list before being activated Thursday. He was batting just .203 when he came to bat in the 11th inning on Sunday. https://www.cheaporioles.com/ . "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub. Orioles Jerseys 2019 . When Reyes signed a US$106-million, six-year deal with Miami last month, there was speculation Ramirez was unhappy about being supplanted at short. But new manager Ozzie Guillen sold Ramirez on the idea. Baltimore Orioles Gear .Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Minnesota Wild will try to turn the tide in their rivalry with the St. Louis Blues when the Central Division foes battle Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. Tonights tilt in St. Paul marks the first of four meetings in 2014-15 between Minnesota and St. Louis. The Wild ended a nine-game skid in this series when they posted a 4-2 home win on April 10 of last season. Minnesota had dropped four straight on home ice against the Blues before that victory. The Wild havent record consecutive wins in the series with St. Louis since taking three straight encounters over the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Both Minnesota and the Blues are coming off wins on Friday night. The Wild posted a 5-4 overtime victory in Dallas and St. Louis recorded an OT win of its own against visiting Edmonton. The Blues trailed the Oilers 3-2 in the third period, but Alex Pietrangelo was able to send the game to overtime by scoring with 7:35 left in regulation. Vladimir Tarasenko then tallied 4:20 into overtime to lift St. Louis to the 4-3 win, the third victory in four games for the Blues. St. Louis could not convert a power play opportunity in overtime, but it still managed to beat Edmonton for the 12th time in the last 14 meetings. Tarasenko puck-handled around Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz to create his own shooting lane, and his shot beat Ben Scrivens. It was the 13th tally of the season for Tarasenko, who is leading the Blues in both goals and points (25). I think everyone sttood up before he even shot it, and I already figured it was going in, said Oshie on the winning goal.dddddddddddd Its fun watching that kid shoot the puck. He cant do it enough. Oshie had three points, and Jake Allen won despite making only 13 saves on 16 shots. With No. 1 goaltender Brian Elliott on injured reserve with a knee injury, Allen will start again on Saturday. The 24-year-old has never faced the Wild. Minnesota won for the sixth time in eight tilts on Friday with the OT win over Dallas. It wasnt pretty, however, as the Wild coughed up an early three-goal lead before rallying for the 5-4 decision. The Wild led 3-0 after Mikael Granlunds goal at 11:47 of the second period, but Dallas scored four unanswered to take the lead. Thomas Vanek would get the equalizer for Minnesota, recording his second goal of the season with just 1:52 remaining in regulation. Marco Scandella then scored the winner 2:04 into overtime. Vanek rushed the puck in down the left wing and from the point he passed it over to the right wing for Zach Parise, who one-touched it to the low left side where Scandella tapped it in for the win. Its an awesome feeling, especially the roller coaster style of game that it was tonight, Scandella said. Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Wild and Darcy Kuemper made 41 saves in the win. Niklas Backstrom is expected to start in net tonight. The veteran owns a 6-9-1 record and 2.81 goals against average in 16 career games versus the Blues. ' ' '