5 things to watch for in World Junior Championship quarterfinals

The 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship resumes with quarterfinal-round games at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter in Buffalo on Tuesday.
The semifinal round will be held at KeyBank Center on Thursday, and the gold-medal and bronze-medal games at KeyBank Center on Friday.

Quarterfinal Round Schedule

Finland vs. Czech Republic (12 p.m. ET; KeyBank Center, NHLN, TSN, RDS)
Canada vs. Switzerland (4 p.m. ET; KeyBank Center, NHLN, TSN, RDS)
Sweden vs. Slovakia (6 p.m. ET; HarborCenter)
United States vs. Russia (8 p.m. ET; KeyBank Center, NHLN, TSN, RDS2)

5 THINGS TO WATCH

On the Button

Sweden defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, a strong candidate to be selected No. 1 in the 2018 NHL Draft, is the best player at his position at this stage in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, according to Craig Button, TSN director of scouting, former NHL Network analyst and former NHL general manager.
Dahlin (6-foot-2, 181 pounds) has six points, all assists, and is tied for the tournament scoring lead among defensemen with Libor Hajek (Tampa Bay Lightning).
"He's just too good," Button said. "He is to defensemen what Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews are to centermen. He's a franchise-defining, elite No. 1 defenseman. I think he can play in the NHL right now because he's that good. His command of the game everywhere on the ice is unbelievable."
Dahlin has played every situation and led Sweden by playing 28:07 in a 4-3 shootout win against Russia on New Year's Eve to help Sweden clinch first in Group B section.
Button feels there are three forwards standing out at the tournament: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks) and Lias Andersson (New York Rangers) of Sweden, and Casey Mittelstadt (Buffalo Sabres) of the United States. Mittelstadt leads the tournament with nine points (four goals, five assists). Andersson has six points and leads all players with five goals, and Pettersson has six points (four goals, two assists).
"[Mittelstadt] has been a real catalyst for the U.S. with scoring chances and his command of the game," Button said. "What he did in the outdoor game (three assists in a 4-3 shootout win against Canada at New Era Field on Friday) was superb."

Canadian Balance

Canada is proving to be the deepest of the 10 teams at the World Juniors.
It's tournament-best 21 goals has come from 13 players. Canada also has the top power play (53.3 percent) and has received the best goaltending (.943 save percentage) through four games.
"It's pretty much what we thought we'd get, offense from every line," Canada coach Dominique Ducharme said. "We liked our balance starting the tournament. Every game different guys are chipping in and we're happy about that."
The top line of center Sam Steel (Anaheim Ducks), left wing Jordon Kyrou (St. Louis Blues) and right wing Dillon Dube has combined for 12 points (five goals, seven assists). Steel (three goals, two assists) and Kyrou (one goal, four assists) each has five points. The second line of Robert Thomas (St. Louis Blues) centering left wing Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay Lightning) has 11 points (five goals, six assists). They've also gotten points from the defense; Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche) is tied for the lead among defensemen with two goals, and Callan Foote (Tampa Bay Lightning) has three assists).
Goaltender Carter Hart (Philadelphia Flyers) has a 1.95 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in three games (2-0-1).

Tkachuk Thrives Under Pressure

U.S. forward Brady Tkachuk, a potential top-five selection at the 2018 draft, has taken his game to another level during the WJC.
The son of U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Keith Tkachuk and brother of Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, Brady is second on the U.S. with six points (two goals, four assists) in four games.
"I definitely feel I've picked it up a couple levels," Tkachuk said. "It's a huge tournament and we all want to win so I'm trying my best to do my part to help get us some wins. I'm really excited for where this group is going."
Against Canada on Friday, Tkachuk scored at 6:43 of the third period to tie the game 3-3, and then scored in the shootout to help the U.S. to a 4-3 victory.
"I've done it for the past month in practice so to finally use it in a game, a big stage like that, it was awesome," Tkachuk said of his shootout move.
He had three assists in a 5-4 win against Finland to help the U.S. clinch second in Group A on Sunday.
"He's just scratching the surface," U.S. coach Bob Motzko said of Tkachuk. "He's one of the guys who plays the right way every shift he's out there. That's what these athletes need to watch and learn from. He carries himself like a pro and plays like it; a great attitude."

Swede Success

Sweden won its four games to finish first in Group B and extend its preliminary-round winning streak to 44 games. It's last preliminary-round loss came against the United States at the 2007 WJC on Dec. 31, 2006.
Despite three straight fourth-place finishes, Sweden has medaled in six of the past 10 events since the start of its preliminary-round winning streak in 2008. They won gold in 2012.
"I still think that we need to play a solid 60-minute game because we haven't done that yet, but I feel confident heading into the playoff round," Sweden coach Tomas Monten said. "We're taking steps and we just have to make sure we're taking another in the quarterfinal. And if you do that, then you can really just let everything go in the last two games."
Forward Jesper Boqvist (New Jersey Devils), who did not play in the 5-4 shootout win against Russia on Sunday, is day-to-day because of an undisclosed injury.

The Russian Bear

The most intriguing of the four quarterfinal games is the United States against Russia at KeyBank Center (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN, RDS2).
"It's exciting," Tkachuk said. "It's going to be an awesome atmosphere, and we'll be dialed in."
The United States never has beaten Russia in the quarterfinal round of the tournament in three tries. The U.S. advanced to the gold medal game last year for the third time in seven years after a 4-3 shootout win against Russia in the semifinals. That seven-round shootout victory marked the first time the U.S. defeated Russia in the medal round of the tournament in eight tries. Russia has won 12 of 19 games against the U.S. at the WJC.
Russia has been led by forwards Klim Kostin (St. Louis Blues; four goals, two assists), Artur Kayumov (Chicago Blackhawks; three goals, two assists) and Andrei Svechnikov (five assists), a projected top-five pick in the 2018 draft.
Monten said Russia was Sweden's toughest opponent in the preliminary round. Russia has rotated four lines and has played a heavy defensive game with a quick transition.
"We haven't played our best game yet, and if there's ever a good time to play it, now's the time," Motzko said.
U.S. center Logan Brown (Ottawa Senators), who has missed the past two games because of a lower-body injury, is questionable. Motzko said he will reveal his starting goalie on Tuesday.