Top prospects critical of own play

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA -

Auston Matthews might have outplayed Patrik Laine in their first meeting at the world hockey championship, but it was Finland that came out with the 3-2 win against the United States on Monday night.

Either way, both prospects were critical of their own play in the highly anticipated game.

"We lost, so it didn't turn out well," said Matthews, the top prospect heading into the NHL Entry Draft.

"I think this was the worst game for me in a long time and I don't know why," said Laine, who is the No. 2 prospect. "But always you can play one bad game in a tournament and mine was now."

With two more weeks' worth of games remaining in the tournament, the battle between the top two prospects is far from over.

Matthews, who has two goals and two assists, and Laine, who leads all players with four goals and six points, have been the story of the world hockey championship so far. And Monday's game did not disappoint.

With Finland leading 2-0 in the first period, Laine carried the puck into the U.S. zone. But as he crossed over the blueline, Matthews stripped the Finnish winger of the puck and freed up Frank Vatrano for a goal.

"I was just trying to make a play," said Matthews. "They kind of caught us on a fast break and I poked the puck and Vatrano made a really nice shot coming down the left side."

"I thought it was offside and that's why I stopped playing," said Laine, who added he thought he heard a whistle. "And then the U.S. guys started to attack and I was like, 'oh s---!' I have to get back. But it was my mistake and I will have to learn from those."

While Matthews appeared to get the better of Laine, who he previously had faced at last year's Under-18 championship and in a world junior championship exhibition game, the American-born centre could not do it alone. Finland, undefeated in three games, is a deeper and more experienced team. And it showed, as Florida Panthers centre Aleksander Barkov limited Matthews to just two shots.

"They're tough," said Matthews. "Barkov's an unbelievable player. He's extremely strong, unbelievable on faceoffs and has great hands. He's definitely a tough player, that whole line with (Jussi) Jokinen and Laine are a good line."

Said Laine, who had three shots but was a minus-1: "I think I was just bad today. I don't know what went wrong, but I think it's just good to be better in the next game."

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