Germany shocked the United States 4-3 in overtime during Saturday's second semifinal at the 2023 IIHF World Championship to advance to the gold-medal game for the first time ever.

Frederik Tiffels scored the winner in the extra frame to set a date with Canada for Sunday's final.

Goaltender Mathias Niederberger was named Germany's player of the game thanks to his 30-save performance.

The nation hasn't won a medal since 1953 when West Germany captured silver against Sweden.

Tiffels hailed his team's "unbelievable effort" after helping his side to a stunning victory.

Team USA was undefeated in the tournament prior to its stunning defeat. The U.S. has lost all 12 of its semifinals at the event since the IIHF reinstituted a bracketed playoff round back in 1992.

It was all United States in the game's early goings. Alex Tuch scored 71 seconds into the matchup and Rocco Grimaldi doubled the lead within the first five minutes, but Germany stormed back. Tiffels and Maksymilian Szuber each found the back of the net to knot the game at two apiece heading into the second stanza.

Mikey Eyssimont broke the stalemate in the middle frame with his first goal of the tournament in his first contest back from a one-game suspension for kneeing Sweden's Rasmus Sandin.

The United States' 3-2 edge held until the tail end of the third period. German forward Marcel Noebels netted the equalizer to extend the contest with the goalie pulled.

Canada punched its ticket to a fourth straight gold-medal game with a 4-2 comeback victory over Latvia in the first semifinal.

The U.S. ultimately fell short of its first gold medal at the Worlds since 1933. America's Olympic medals in 1952 (silver), 1956 (silver), and 1960 (gold) also counted as Worlds medals before the IIHF started to differentiate between the two tournaments.

Team USA will face off against Latvia for bronze Sunday.

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It required a comeback, but Canada survived a scare from Latvia to book its spot in the gold-medal game at the 2023 IIHF World Championship during Saturday's first semifinal.

Top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Adam Fantilli netted the game-winner in the third period as Canada tamed the underdogs in a 4-2 victory.

"It's pretty special," Fantilli said of the moment, per IIHF. "I grew up watching (Milan Lucic) my entire life. He gave me that pass, and it ended up going in, but that was a pretty surreal feeling."

Jack Quinn was named Canada's player of the game after scoring the game-tying goal.

Canada will try to ascend to the top of the podium for the first time since 2021 on Sunday against the winner of Saturday's second semifinal between the United States and Germany.

Latvia put the Canadians on their heels before the midway mark of the first period when Dans Locmelis dumped in the rebound on an angle to open the scoring.

Sammy Blais got the reigning silver medalists on the board in the middle frame, but Rudolfs Balcers restored Latvia's lead just over a minute later.

The tide turned for the Canadians in the final frame.

Quinn banked in the equalizer off Latvian netminder Arturs Silovs' head in the opening minute of the stanza. Canada held onto that momentum, with Fantilli giving his team its first lead of the game a little over eight minutes later.

The highlight-reel snipe is the 18-year-old Fantilli's first goal of the tournament.

Canada's Scott Laughton scored an empty-netter to put the game out of reach.

Latvia still has a chance to win its first medal at an IIHF event. The tournament co-host will play for bronze Sunday.

Canadian defenseman Ethan Bear wasn't in the lineup after being slashed by Finland's Kasperi Kapanen at the end of Thursday's quarterfinal.

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Four were selected in the 2017 NHL expansion draft; two were acquired via trade on the same day. Four are now in their 30s; two are in their late 20s.

Together, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, William Carrier, Shea Theodore, and Brayden McNabb represent the past and present of Golden Knights hockey. Despite all of the chaos swirling around a franchise that's become known for its cutthroat decision-making, the remaining members of the "Golden Misfits" still call Las Vegas home and are one win away from a second Stanley Cup Final in just six years.

The incredible part: Marchessault and Karlsson have been essential to this particular playoff run, while the other four have proved to be valuable assets in their own unique, less glamorous ways.

Marchessault, the rare dressing room "glue guy" who's also vitally important on the ice, is up to eight goals - three of them game-winners - plus six assists. He and star center Jack Eichel have been the offensive drivers through 15 games. Marchessault has accumulated a team-high 5.86 expected goals thanks to an insane 28 quality scoring chances, according to Sportlogiq.

Karlsson's bagged eight goals himself to go along with three assists. Most notably, he's been on the ice for 12 goals for and five against over 189 minutes of five-on-five action. The Swede's most common forward opponent against the Winnipeg Jets? Kyle Connor. Edmonton Oilers? Connor McDavid. Dallas Stars? Jason Robertson. Talk about acing three difficult assignments.

Turnover is inevitable in every NHL organization. But cores that win enough tend to stay largely intact, a decade zooming by relatively quickly. Not in Vegas, though.

The Golden Knights are bold. They make blockbuster trades and landmark signings to bring in the likes of Eichel, Mark Stone, and Alex Pietrangelo. They fire head coaches, with Bruce Cassidy counting as the third bench boss.

Six originals remain, and the front office deserves credit for choosing the right ride-or-die players. Especially in the cases of Marchessault and Karlsson.

2023 NHL draft FAQ

With the June 28-29 draft fast approaching, I checked in earlier this week with an Ontario-based amateur scout for an NHL team, a Europe-based amateur scout, and Dan Marr, the vice president of the league's in-house Central Scouting bureau. Here are a few takeaways from those discussions.

Quality of draft class: The 2023 class is generating loads of hype. So much, in fact, that some have labeled it exceptionally deep or excellent overall. The two team-affiliated scouts, who were granted anonymity because they're not permitted to speak with reporters, aren't quite buying the hype.

"After the top five, the draft becomes rather average," the Europe scout said.

In no particular order, those consensus top-five players are forwards Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Matvei Michkov, Leo Carlsson, and Will Smith.

"You could make the argument that any of those five guys could have gone first overall last year," the scout added. "That's where all of the hype comes from, or should come from. After them, it drops off pretty significantly. The 6-10 range is not that strong compared to the better drafts of recent memory."

The Ontario scout says the depth in 2023 is "nowhere close" to the vaunted 2003 and 2015 classes.

"You've got Bedard, Fantilli, and a few others at the top. So it seems really, really good at first glance," the scout said. "But the impression I've gotten from talking to people in the industry is that it's not that great, overall."

Marr, who scouted for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Thrashers for two decades prior to joining the league in 2011, is a bit higher on 2023. But he too stopped short of comparing it to 2003, which produced 48 players with at least 500 NHL games played, or 2015, McDavid and Eichel's draft year.

"The top 10 is strong," Marr said, before noting teams slotted between 15th and 20th overall in Nashville next month will be "very happy" with their picks.

High-level trends: Forward is the class' strongest position, and the first few tiers feature a variety of player types: goal-scoring forwards, pass-first forwards, two-way forwards, physically mature forwards, raw forwards, etc.

According to the Europe scout, there's a small chance consensus top defenseman David Reinbacher goes off the board within the first five picks. However, Reinbacher is more likely to be selected between sixth and 10th, and there's a sizable gap between him and the class' second-best blue-liner.

The goaltending crop is nothing special, either.

As for top leagues and countries, the Western Hockey League, led by Bedard, Zach Benson, and Nate Danielson, has a big presence. The U.S. National Team Development Program should have at least four first-round picks - forwards Smith, Ryan Leonard, Oliver Moore, and Gabriel Perreault - in a good-but-not-great year for the Michigan-based team. Sweden, as usual, is Europe's powerhouse, while Marr points out Czechia and Slovakia have truly revived their pipelines.

Marr's fairly certain the first two, perhaps three, defensemen picked will be from Europe or Russia. Austrian Reinbacher; Swedes Axel Sandin Pellikka, Tom Willander, and Theo Lindstein; and Russian Mikhail Gulyayev are the top names on Central Scouting's final ranking of international skaters.

Players of intrigue: Central Scouting expects 106 draft-eligible players at the scouting combine, which goes June 4-10 in Buffalo. Marr says eight or nine Russian players would've been invited but can't attend because of visa issues.

The "Russian factor" always lingers around the draft. It's more pronounced this year because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the exclusion of Russian teams from international tournaments. These variables could cause the country's best prospects to slide on draft night. Michkov, who's under contract with his KHL team through 2025-26, is the class' ultimate wild card.

The Europe scout would "probably recommend Michkov" as the top prospect outside of North America. "Michkov's ceiling is quite a bit higher than Carlsson's. I still love Carlsson as a player, but he's more of a potentially really good player than a potentially elite player."

The upside: Michkov's eventual arrival in the NHL could change the course of a franchise, like fellow Russian Kirill Kaprizov did with the Minnesota Wild.

"Everything about him is legit," Marr said of Michkov's on-ice abilities.

Eduard Sale, a forward from Czechia, is another interesting case. He entered the season with top-10 hype, the Europe scout notes, but was "sliding really, really hard throughout the year" due to concerns over his compete level and work ethic. And these concerns weren't limited to only a few talent evaluators.

Cam Allen, a defenseman from Canada, also saw his stock drop, though not because of a low compete level, the Ontario scout says. He just didn't produce or live up to expectations after winning the OHL's Rookie of the Year award in 2021-22. NHL teams are left wondering which Allen is the real Allen.

VR company making inroads

Buffalo Sabres rookie Devon Levi is a huge proponent. Seattle Kraken prospect Joey Daccord has been using it throughout the AHL playoffs. Other pro goalies and skaters are on board. Same goes for coaches and managers.

Virtual reality company Sense Arena has carved out a niche for itself in the hockey world over the past few years. With only a headset and handheld controllers required, the "completely immersive experience" can help players fine-tune read-and-react skills through a series of drills.

The objective is to expose oneself to different on-ice scenarios - off the ice.

"The more you are in situations where you need to make decisions, your brain creates a pattern. Then, when you get into the same situation on the ice, and you have been there a thousand times before, you just react. You don't think," said Sense Arena CEO Bob Tetiva, a former professional basketball player who founded the Prague-based company in 2018.

Sense Arena is making inroads at an opportune time, as coaches have begun to come around to the idea that hockey sense can be taught. While some players are naturally better at reading the game, expert teaching - whether it's on-ice instruction, video sessions, or VR - can lead to notable improvement.

"Is it easier to learn a language at three years old than at 23? Absolutely. But can you still learn a language? Yeah," Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis told Sportsnet earlier this season.

He added, "We can make (players) better. You're not going to get him fully there versus a kid who already has that. But if you improve him 10% or 15%, how much more productive and efficient can he be on the ice?"

Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson, who'd be nowhere without high-end hockey sense and IQ, seems to have a similar view.

"There are players who have it more than others. Some are very cerebral," Robertson told me last fall. "They just know what's going to happen, know how pucks are going to come off the boards - or wherever - so they get into the right spot. But you can teach how to play predictably, too. You can teach players to get to specific areas of the ice. People can learn that and adjust."

For goalies, VR is especially useful for learning how to better read shot releases off sticks and anticipating the puck's trajectory toward the crease. Both goalies and skaters can keep the mind sharp during injury and rehab periods. Heck, even when a player is healthy, VR can be a substitute for on-ice work, since there's less wear and tear on the body.

Parting shots

Sam Bennett: Bennett is endlessly fascinating for his habit of flipping the switch come playoff time. Over an eight-season career split between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers, he's averaged 0.63 points and 3.8 hits per game in the playoffs versus 0.45 points and 1.8 hits per game in the regular season. Bennett, a bearded 26-year-old centering an all-agitator top-six line with Matthew Tkachuk and Nick Cousins, has certainly earned his increased production. As of Thursday morning, the Holland Landing, Ontario, native was first or tied for first in inner-slot shots (20), scoring chances generated off the forecheck (seven), and chances off rebounds (seven), according to Sportlogiq.

Offer sheets: Teams looking to dramatically improve their roster through free agency this offseason are fighting an uphill battle. The group of unrestricted free agents could be kindly described as "below average," and the group of restricted guys isn't much better. RFAs, of course, can be acquired only through the offer-sheet process, which is arduous and can ruffle feathers in the opposing front office. Three RFAs who jump off the page: goalie Jeremy Swayman (the Boston Bruins have limited cap space and a lot of players to sign), forward Michael McLeod (breakout performance for the New Jersey Devils in the playoffs), and forward Pierre-Luc Dubois (Winnipeg is losing him once he becomes a UFA next summer, anyway). Offer sheets are so rare that the chances any of them are tabled with one are slim. But if an enterprising team wants to get creative:

Carolina Hurricanes: For a team that's made the playoffs in each of Rod Brind'Amour's five seasons behind the bench, twice making it to the conference finals, the books are extremely clean. Amazingly, only three players are signed past 2024-25: Andrei Svechnikov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Pyotr Kochetkov. This financial freedom, plus plenty of draft capital, should allow general manager Don Waddell to address Carolina's glaring needs: pure goal-scorers and an NHL-caliber goalie to pair with Kochetkov. Maybe that means re-signing UFA forward Max Pacioretty and UFA goalie Frederik Andersen, then adding one or two other game-breaking forwards via free agency or trade. Maybe that means bringing in a whole new cast of characters. Regardless, the Canes find themselves at a crossroads.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer believes his team has life after avoiding the sweep with a dramatic overtime win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.

"We don't have much choice but to believe in it, right? That's where we're at," DeBoer said Friday, according to NHL.com's Tracey Myers. "I do believe in it, and I think there's always a team that puts itself in this spot and climbs out of it. Doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that - why not us?"

Only four other clubs in NHL history have won a series after trailing 3-0: The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings, the 1975 New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins, and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks.

Stars forward Joe Pavelski, who scored the OT winner in Game 4, was on that infamous Sharks team in 2014 that was on the wrong end of history against the Kings.

"They're not fun when you're on the other side," Pavelski said.

"The one against L.A., yeah, you never think it could happen. … There were a couple of tight games. And you don't want to be in those situations, but when you're on the other side, you understand it can happen. It's happened before. It's such a fine line this time of year."

If the Stars are going to live to fight another day, they'll have to do so once again without captain Jamie Benn, who's set to serve the second contest of a two-game suspension, and winger Evgenii Dadonov, who remains out with a lower-body injury.

Game 5 of the Western Conference Final goes down Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET in Las Vegas.

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The Hurricanes have a plethora of pending unrestricted free agents, but two of them - captain Jordan Staal and goaltender Frederik Andersen - expressed their intent Friday to remain in Carolina.

"I don't plan on going anywhere," Staal said two days after the Florida Panthers swept the Canes out of the Eastern Conference Final. "Obviously been here long enough, no reason to leave. I'm sure we'll find a way to get a deal done. ... We'll hopefully check off some unfinished business."

He added, "I wanna finish my career off here."

Staal, 34, has been with the Hurricanes since 2012-13 and was named captain in 2019. He just played the final season of a mammoth 10-year, $60-million extension.

The veteran forward put up 17 goals and 17 assists in 81 regular-season games while averaging just over 16 minutes of ice time per contest. Staal added two tallies and six helpers in 15 playoff matchups this spring.

Andersen, who just finished his second season in Raleigh, shared a similar sentiment.

"My priority is to be back here. … I definitely believe in this group. We can do something special next year," he said.

The 33-year-old netminder was limited to 34 appearances in the regular season due to injuries, but he shone in his first taste of the playoffs since 2020.

Andersen went 5-3 this postseason and backstopped the Hurricanes with an impressive .927 save percentage and 1.83 goals-against average. He was unable to participate in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs because of an MCL tear.

The Dane just wrapped up a two-year, $9-million pact he signed with the Hurricanes as a free agent in July 2021.

Andersen's running mate, Antti Raanta, is set to become an unrestricted free agent as well. Young netminder Pyotr Kochetkov is signed through 2026-27.

Shayne Gostisbehere, Jesper Fast, Paul Stastny, and the injured Max Pacioretty can also test the open market this summer. The Hurricanes have just over $24 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.

Carolina finished the 2022-23 campaign with the second-best record in the NHL (52-21-9) and made the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

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The Golden Knights and Stars went to overtime Thursday for the third time in four Western Conference Final games. But for the first time in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vegas lost a game in overtime - after three wins - and Dallas won in OT - following four failed tries.

There isn't enough disparity between playoff-caliber NHL teams to not consider any matchup that's a draw after 60 minutes something of a coin flip once it gets to overtime. You'll rarely see a live moneyline outside of -130 (56.5% implied win probability) for the favorite once the game enters OT.

Winning or losing three-to-four overtime contests in a row is a true lesson in variance. How much different might the Eastern Conference playoffs look if the Panthers went 3-3 in overtime instead of 6-0 on their run to the Stanley Cup Final? What if the Golden Knights had lost one of their previous overtime games? This Western Conference Final would potentially look a lot different had the Stars managed a split in Vegas.

When Joe Pavelski scored in Thursday's Game 4 to break the dueling overtime goose eggs, the Stars kept their season alive, and we get playoff hockey this weekend. But should we expect this series to return to Dallas? If we've learned anything, there's no such thing as expectation - just value.

Stars (+115) @ Golden Knights (-135)

The Golden Knights are up 3-1 in the series, and Stars captain Jamie Benn is out for one more game due to suspension. Vegas is still converting even-strength high-danger chances at an absurd clip with a 2-for-10 performance in Game 4, while the Stars still need more opportunities than usual to get a goal (1-for-15 Thursday). With all that considered, the Game 5 moneylines aren't all that different than where they were ahead of Game 1 when Dallas took enough money to close +105.

Every contest - and this series as a whole - has come down to three things:

1. The Golden Knights' high-danger chance conversions - can they maintain a scoring rate above 20%?
2. Adin Hill (4.07 GSAx) outplaying Jake Oettinger (minus-2.67 GSAx)
3. The Stars' power play: 1-for-7 in Games 1-3, 2-for-2 in Game 4

The first two elements are somewhat related. If Oettinger struggles, Vegas will probably score better than the league-average high-danger chance conversion rate of 12%. Reputedly good at bouncing back from a bad loss, Oettinger improved his goals saved above expectation numbers in Game 4 by stopping 0.62 GSAx.

That was only slightly better than Hill, who saved just shy of a half-goal above expectation. The performance was actually less than Hill's standard since taking over from Laurent Brossoit, as he's saved 9.63 goals above expected in nine contests this postseason.

The nature of sample sizes is that you should have patience while the data widens as more games and minutes are played. The longer the Stars survive, the more opportunity Oettinger has to get back to statistical average by playing consistently better. Dallas will also have more time to bring Hill down to a statistical level befitting a goaltender on his third team in three years and who was as low as fourth on the Golden Knights' depth chart this season.

Reliance on power-play efficiencies to predict goals in a game is often a fool's errand. On the one hand, there were only three power plays in Game 4, yet Pavelski's game-winner came on the man advantage in overtime. It's only important if the few chances are converted. The Stars' power play has now revived the postseason for Dallas' top goal-scorer. Jason Robertson has four goals in the series, with two coming on the power play. His 11 shots on goal in Game 4 indicate that even without Benn, the Stars not only feel the urgency of an elimination game but can do something about it.

Dallas made it through two rounds with shaky goaltending and without getting much from Robertson. What if we're seeing both of those elements turn from minuses to pluses? In what have been 50-50 games (excluding Game 3), the Stars are the bet to extend the series at anything better than an even-money price for their moneyline in Game 5.

Pick: Stars moneyline (+115)

Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.

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