Finland beats France 3-1 at worlds for fifth win
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) Finland guaranteed a place in the quarterfinals of the world ice hockey championship with two games remaining after beating France 3-1 on Saturday.
Forward Patrik Laine, a contender for the No. 1 spot in next month's NHL draft, registered a goal and an assist as Finland scored three times in the space of 10 second-period minutes.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored for France on a 5-on-3 in the third to stop Finland achieving a second consecutive shutout.
In Group A, Sweden recorded its fifth win, beating Norway 3-2. Gustav Nyquist scored his sixth goal of the tournament for Sweden.
Norway pulled goaltender Lars Haugen at 3-1 down with three minutes remaining and was rewarded when Andreas Martinsen scored, but could not find another goal to take the game to overtime.
