In a tense, gritty Group A affair at Helsinki Ice Hall on Sunday, France trailed Kazakhstan for more than half the game, but fought back to earn a 2-1 win for their first three points of the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The result could prove important in the race to avoid relegation.

"We've been waiting for this game for many months now," said French captain Damien Fleury. "We wanted to win. It's an important win, and now we can breathe a little bit and be more comfortable for the rest of the tournament."

Florian Chakiachvili scored the late second-period go-ahead goal. Alexandre Texier also stepped up for coach Philippe Bozon's crew with a goal and an assist.

Valentin Orekhov tallied for the winless Kazakhs.

France last appeared in the top division in Slovakia in 2019. After falling 4-2 to Slovakia on Day One, this was an important character win, as Les Bleus are looking to establish a new top-division streak like their previous 2008-18 run.

"Of course, we weren't expecting to be here, but now that we are here we want to show everyone that we deserve to be here," Fleury said. "This was a big win, our first in the top level for three years now. It was a perfect afternoon for us."

It was a much different, more committed Kazakhstan compared to the team that got blown out 9-1 by Denmark in the opener. That wasn't enough, however, for the former Soviet republic to avoid its second straight loss.

"In the second period, we handed the initiative to the opposition," said Kazakh coach Yuri Mikhailis. "They had puck possession, and somehow, of course, we exposed our weaknesses. They scored two on us. In the third, we tried to change the pattern of the game. We pressed hard, but the effort didn’t bring any success."

In net, both France's Henri Corentin Buysse and Kazakhstan's Andrei Shutov were strong, although the Barys-Nur Sultan netminder faced more dangerous opportunities. Shots favoured Kazakhstan 27-23.

Even though this was a physical tilt, the teams kept it clean. France took just one minor penalty and Kazakhstan two.

At 5:08, Orekhov got Kazakhstan on the board first. He went hard to the net and the puck deflected in off his right skate courtesy of Nikita Mikhailis’ centering pass from right wing. The goal was video-reviewed and ruled good.

Shutov had to be sharp to keep France scoreless in the first period. Chasing down a long dump-in, Charles Bertrand rushed into the Kazakh zone, stripped defenceman Adil Beketayev of the puck from behind and slipped it across to Jordann Perret. Shutov lunged over to make a fantastic blocker save.

In the second period, Texier notched the equalizer at 12:31. He looped into the high slot and got Shutov moving the wrong way as he flung a high shot past the Kazakh netminder's glove through traffic. The 22-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets forward exultantly punched the glass before celebrating with his teammates.

The French continued to counterattack. Shutov had to be alert with under five minutes to play in the middle frame when Tim Bozon got shifty on the rush to set up Sacha Treille. Shutov slid to his left to make a tough stop.

Chakiachvili gave France its first lead with just 25 seconds left in the middle frame. The 30-year-old veteran defenceman, appearing in his seventh top-level Worlds, sent a wrister from the centre point that eluded Shutov with Treille screening aggressively in front. Chakiachvili fell to his knees, his exultation plain to see.

"It was a tight game," said Kevin Bozon. "It was 1-0 for them, but we showed great character coming back and taking a 2-1 lead. I think from that point on we controlled the game"

Kazakhstan outshot France 11-7 in the second period, but had nothing to show for it. The futility continued in the third, even after Shutov was yanked for the extra attacker. At the final buzzer, the French whooped it up loudly as they skated over to congratulate Buysse.

"The games against Kazakhstan and Italy are the ones we know we have to win," said Kevin Bozon. "But not just them. We're focused on every team and try to steal some points. Today was a great game. We're really happy with the win, but the tournament isn't over. We're looking forward to our next game tomorrow against Germany."

This was the fourth clash between France and Kazakhstan in IIHF World Championship history. The Kazakhs earned a 5-0 relegation round win in 2004 in Prague. The French struck back with a 5-3 relegation round win in 2010 in Mannheim and a 6-3 group-stage win in 2012 in Helsinki.