Canada defeated Finland in overtime Sunday to claim gold at the world championship in Latvia.

Nick Paul scored the winning goal in the three-on-three extra frame with Connor Brown - the tournament's leading scorer - providing the assist.

Canada trailed twice during the final, including in the third period, before captain Adam Henrique buried the equalizer with seven minutes to go.

Andrew Mangiapane, who racked up 11 points in seven games after arriving at the tournament late, was named MVP of the event.

The Canadians won their 27th world championship in unconventional fashion. They started the tournament 0-3 and barely qualified for the medal round, but they defeated Russia, the United States, and Finland en route to the title.

The team was led by head coach Gerard Gallant and constructed by first-time general manager Roberto Luongo.

The championship is Canada's first since 2016. Finland topped Canada for gold in the most recent event in 2019.

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The Canadian government has approved a travel exemption for the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, allowing teams to cross the Canada-United States border without requiring quarantine, according to CBC News.

Players will live in a modified quarantine bubble and won't have any access to the general public. They will also be subject to daily COVID-19 testing.

Cross-border travel between Canada and the United States has been restricted throughout the pandemic. Last summer, the NHL staged the Stanley Cup Playoffs with strict COVID policies in place in separate bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton.

This season, teams did not play opponents outside their divisions in an effort to limit travel. The seven Canadian teams resided in the North Division.

The Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets are the two Canadian teams alive in the playoff picture, with the Habs holding a 2-0 series lead. The winner of the second-round clash will take on the winner of the Colorado Avalanche-Vegas Golden Knights series in Round 3.

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Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights have been voted Selke Trophy finalists, the league announced Sunday.

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is voted upon annually by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and awarded to "the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."

Barkov is a Selke finalist for the first time in his career. Florida's captain posted 58 points in 50 games this season and maintained his reputation as a stellar two-way forward. The Panthers had 60.06% of all goals and 59.85% of all shot attempts at five-on-five with Barkov on the ice, according to Evolving Hockey. The 25-year-old also won 54.9% of his draws and registered 39 takeaways while averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game.

Bergeron, a four-time Selke winner, is nominated for a remarkable 10th straight season. Should he win this year, he'll surpass Bob Gainey for most Selke wins by a single player. The 35-year-old had 48 points in 54 games this season while controlling 65.8% of all goals and 63.18% of all shot attempts at five-on-five. He saw his average ice time dip in 2020-21 but still won 62% of his faceoffs while notching 35 takeaways.

Stone is a finalist for the second time in his career and would be the first winger to win the award since Jere Lehtinen in 2003. The 29-year-old had the best offensive regular season of his career with 1.11 points per game and led all Golden Knights forwards with 19:04 in average ice time. Stone also led the NHL with 58 takeaways and had sparkling underlying metrics; Vegas scored 64.8% of all goals and controlled 53.03% of all shot attempts with its captain on the ice at five-on-five.

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Taya Currie became the first female ever drafted to the OHL on Saturday, going 267th overall to the Sarnia Sting.

"Taya Currie is a very athletic goaltender," said OHL director of central scouting Darrell Woodley. "Not the biggest goalie in the world at 5-foot-7, 140 pounds, but she makes up for it in her athleticism and her quickness. She does a great job taking away the bottom of the net with her butterfly style.

"She challenges well, she moves well in her net. She's been playing with boys in AAA since minor atom," Woodley added.

Shannon Szabados, Manon Rheaume, and Charline Labonte are the three women to previously play in the CHL, with Szabados being the most recent to do so in 2002-03.

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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Carolina Hurricanes blue-liner Jaccob Slavin, and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon are the finalists for the 2021 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, the league announced Saturday.

The award is given to the player who exhibits the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play.

Matthews is up for the award for the second consecutive season. He served only 10 minutes of penalties across 52 games despite ranking fifth among all NHL forwards with 21:33 of ice time per game.

The Toronto superstar already won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's top goal-scorer and is also nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player voted by his peers.

Slavin averaged over 22 minutes per game this season in 52 contests and took only one minor penalty, which was for delay of game.

Spurgeon had 25 points in 54 games for the Wild this season, playing top-pairing minutes and taking only three minors. Slavin is the only player in the NHL to average more ice time than Spurgeon and commit fewer penalties.

Only three defensemen have ever won the Lady Byng, most recently in 2011 when Brian Campbell took home the award. Before then, the last instance was Red Kelly in 1953-54.

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Canada advanced to the final at the world championship in Latvia by defeating the United States 4-2 on Saturday.

The winner of the Germany-Finland semifinal will be Canada's opponent for gold.

Canada got two goals from Andrew Mangiapane, one from Brandon Pirri, and an empty-netter from Justin Danforth to seal the deal. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves in the victory.

The United States beat Canada 5-1 in preliminary-round play. Canada has rebounded drastically from an 0-3 start to the tournament.

The gold-medal game is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET on Sunday. Should Canada win, it would mark its 27th title in tournament history and first since 2016.

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The Buffalo Sabres interviewed Rikard Gronborg for their head coaching vacancy, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

Gronborg is the bench boss of the Zurich Lions in Switzerland, and he's also served as head coach of the Swedish national team.

The Sabres fired Ralph Krueger amid a disastrous 2020-21 season, with Don Granato taking over on an interim basis.

Buffalo has also interviewed Rick Tocchet and Bruce Boudreau, among several others, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

There are currently six head coach openings across the NHL.

The Sabres finished this past season 31st in the league, and they recently won the first overall draft pick this summer.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele believes his four-game suspension for charging Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans is too harsh a punishment.

"Pretty excessive. I wasn’t expecting that, and I was pretty shocked," Scheifele said in his first public comments since the hit, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

Scheifele added he reached out to Evans and is hoping the Canadiens forward can make a quick recovery.

"My intention on that play was to try and negate a goal. There's no intent or no malice there," Scheifele said.

Scheifele skated nearly the entire length of the ice and drilled Evans as he tucked in an empty netter to secure Montreal's Game 1 victory. Evans laid unconscious on the ice and was stretchered off. The 25-year-old's since been diagnosed with a concussion and is sidelined indefinitely.

The 28-year-old had no prior suspensions through his eight seasons as an NHL regular. Scheifele's eligible to return to the second-round series in Game 6 if it goes that far.

Game 2 goes Friday night in Winnipeg.

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Canada defeated the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 2-1 in overtime Thursday to advance to the world championship semifinals.

Andrew Mangiapane scored the winning goal for Canada off a brilliant setup from Troy Stecher. Adam Henrique forced the extra frame with a tally in the third period.

ROC held a significant advantage over Canada in NHL star power and entered Thursday's contest leading the tournament in goals scored.

Canada will play the United States on Saturday at 7:15 a.m. ET, while Germany and Finland will clash in the other semifinal matchup.

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Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice defended Mark Scheifele on Thursday after the star earned a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for charging Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans.

"You need to do everything you can to stop a goal from being scored. It was a heavy, heavy hit for sure, but it was clean," Maurice said, according to The Athletic's Murat Ates.

Maurice added that Scheifele didn't leave his feet or lead with his elbow, and that Evans' head wasn't the target of the impact.

Scheifele skated nearly the entire length of the ice and steamrolled Evans as he tucked a goal into Winnipeg's empty net late in the third period of Game 1 on Wednesday night. Evans was stretchered off the ice and is sidelined indefinitely with a concussion.

The Canadiens said the hit was disgusting and promised retribution should Scheifele return at some point in the series.

Scheifele's hearing isn't in-person, meaning he can be suspended for a maximum of five games. He's never faced supplemental discipline to this point in his NHL career.

Game 2 goes Friday night.

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