PROVO, Utah ? Captain Teemu Selanne scored the first of three straight goals as Finland surprised Russia 3-1 Monday to clinch second place in its Olympic hockey group.
Mikko Eloranta and Jere Lehtinen also scored for the Finns, who again proved they can't be counted out in international play. Finland, the only nation to win a medal in each of the past two Olympics, rebounded from a 6-0 loss to the United States in its opener to win two straight.
Pavel Bure scored for the Russians (1-1-1), who finished a disappointing third in the group behind Finland and the United States.
Russia's high-powered roster, which includes seven players who have scored at least 29 goals in an NHL season, has managed just three goals in its last six periods, while superstar goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has been rather ordinary.
Finland's victory unexpectedly shuffled the quarterfinal possibilities for Wednesday. Finland now will face the loser of Canada's match with the Czech Republic later Monday, while the winner will get the unenviable task of meeting a powerful Russian team stinging from an upset loss.
Finland's bronze performance in Nagano was overshadowed by the Czech Republic's heroics and disappointing outings by the United States and Canada. Given the absence of star Saku Koivu, who's battling cancer, not much was expected of the current team ? particularly after the blowout loss to the United States Friday.
Since then, Finland's patient, defense-oriented style resulted in strong games against Belarus and Russia. Finland also got strong goaltending from Jani Hurme, who stopped 25 shots and held on against a Russian rally in the final minutes.
The Russians' vaunted attack was in excellent form in the first period, and they took the lead on Bure's first goal of the tournament. Hurme, back in net after sitting out the win over Belarus, made several excellent saves to keep his team in it until the Finns' attack, which got just two shots in the first period, picked up.
Finland tied it up midway through the second period when Selanne creeped behind the Russian defense and got a beautiful long pass from Ossi Vaananen. Breaking in alone on Khabibulin, Selanne threw a shoulder fake and scored on a backhand.
Eloranta got the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and Lehtinen added insurance with a power-play goal in the third. The Russians' frustration manifested itself midway through the third when Alexei Kovalev punched Jarkko Ruutu in the face with a gloved hand.
Bure had a breakaway with 6 1/2 minutes to play, but defenseman Kimmo Timonen caught the speedy Russian from behind and disturbed his stick. Bure nearly scored on a rebound with 90 seconds left, but Hurme made an acrobatic sliding pad save.