WJC day 2 recap: Romanov joins the party in style

MONTREAL - While several Canadiens prospects were already playing their second game of the 2019 World Junior Championship on Thursday, Alexander Romanov was stepping onto the ice for his first.

Romanov and Team Russia were facing off against a Denmark team that was looking to rebound after losing their first game to Canada.
In a 4-0 win for Russia, Romanov stood out for the victors, seeing usage in all kinds of situations - whether his team was up a man or down one, or anything in between. He took advantage of his 19:14 of ice time and was on the ice for all four of his team's goals.
The first goal of the game may have been scored just seconds after he stepped onto the ice, but his mere presence was foreshadowing of things to come. In the middle frame, Romanov wired a powerful slapshot that gave William Rorth no chance, and he doubled Russia's lead in the process.

In the final period, Romanov once again made his presence known by breaking through niftily to the slot. His shot was deflected by teammate Pavel Shen, who was given credit for the goal, and Romanov would finish the night with an assist on Russia's fourth goal into an empty net.
To cap it all off, the defenseman was named Russia's player of the game.
Switzerland 2 - Canada 3
Coming off a 14-0 win the night before, Canada was back in action less than 24 hours later, this time taking on Switzerland. For a second straight game, Canada won it (3-2) and Nick Suzuki would get his name on the scoresheet in this one.
In the first minute, while Canada was making a change, Suzuki jumped on to replace Owen Tippett to link up with the team's first-line wingers, and he took advantage of the opportunity to serve up a healthy pass to Cody Glass, who thread the needle to complete the play.
On several occasions, Suzuki's vision and creativity served his line - consisting of Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Alexis Lafreniere - well, as each of his linemates benefitted from several scoring chances, without success.
In this third period, his speed and tenacity when getting around Gianluca Burger forced the Swiss defender to take a hooking penalty and give Canada a power play.
When the final buzzer rang, Suzuki had racked up 14:12 of ice time, a plus-1 differential and three shots on goal in addition to his assist on the first goal.
As for defenseman Josh Brook, he's proven to be a reliable option for coach Tim Hunter, who is also his bench boss in Junior with the Moose Jaw Warriors.
As such, Hunter sent Brook out on four penalty-kill situations in addition to using him in the final minutes of the game while Switzerland was attempting to tie things up.
Brook finished pointless in the contest, but registered a plus-2 differential in a shade under 20 minutes of action (19:58).
Slovakia 2 - Sweden 5
A few hours earlier in the day, Sweden had a dance with Slovakia and came out on the winning side in a 5-2 decision.
Habs prospect Jacob Olofsson has been slotted in on his team's third line in a defensive role, and he didn't get his name on the scoresheet on Thursday. But he did take three faceoffs (1-for-3) in 13:40 of ice time, finishing with an even differential.
Finland 5 - Kazakhstan 0
Kazakhstan was the last team to make their debut at the tournament, and they did so late in the evening, taking on Canadiens hopeful Jesse Ylonen and Team Finland.
Finland's No. 27 made his mark by earning an assist on his team's first and fourth goals of the game.
Ylonen had a busy night in the 5-0 win, sending four shots on Kazakh netminder Demid Yeremeyev, and finishing the game with a plus-2 differential in 15:59 of action.
What's on tap for Friday
Friday is a quieter day for Canadiens prospects, with only Romanov (Czech Republic vs. Russia) and Ryan Poehling (Kazakhstan vs. United States) scheduled to play.
Schedule of the day
Czech Republic - Russia - 8:00 p.m. ET (TSN 1/3/4)
Kazakhstan - United States - 10:30 p.m. ET (TSN 3/5 and RDS)