The 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark is a showcase for NHL players of the present, past and future who are not involved in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 16-nation tournament began May 4 and runs through May 20.
More than 100 NHL players are involved in this year's tournament, with star-studded Sweden looking to repeat as champion. Stars include Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Canada's captain, and Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, the United States captain.
Most of the World Championship games will be broadcast by NHL Network, including every United States game. The NHL Network schedule is here.
The World Championship Buzz is NHL.com's hub for all the results and news from the tournament.
World Championship Buzz: Sweden tops Switzerland to defend gold
Wins in shootout; United States defeats Canada for bronze
By
NHL.com @NHLdotcom
Sunday, May 20
Sweden 3, Switzerland 2, SO:Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes) and Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators) scored for Sweden which won their second straight gold medal at the World Championship.
Anders Nilsson (Vancouver Canucks) made 16 saves, including four in the shootout after Sven Andrighetto (Colorado Avalanche) scored for Switzerland.
Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) and Gustav Nyquist (Detroit Red Wings) scored, and Roman Josi (Nashville Predators) had two assists for Sweden, which won gold in 2017 and has won 17 straight games at the World Championship.
Zibanejad tied the game at 2-2 at 14:53 of the second period after Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks) scored to give Switzerland a 2-1 lead at 3:13 of the second period.
Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota Wild) gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead at 16:38 of the first period.
Less than two minutes later, Nyquist tied the game 1-1 at 17:54.
Switzerland medaled for the first time since 2013 when they won silver, losing to Sweden in the gold medal game.
Leonardo Genoni made 30 saves for Switzerland.
United States 4, Canada 1:Nick Bonino (Predators) scored the go-ahead, power-play goal with 6:42 remaining to help the United States win bronze.
It was the first medal for the U.S. since winning bronze in 2015; Canada didn't medal for the first time since 2014.
"Not the medal we wanted ultimately at the end but it's a big win for us," Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames) said. "We capitalized on a couple of power-play goals. ... it was a big team effort."
The game was tied 1-1 after the second period. Chris Kreider (Rangers) scored a power-play goal at 6:40 to give the United States a 1-0 lead. Marc-Edouard Vlasic (Sharks) made it 1-1 at 18:08 of the second off a nice passing play with Bo Horvat (Canucks) and Kyle Turris (Predators)
Keith Kinkaid (New Jersey Devils) made 24 saves for the United States.
Anders Lee (New York Islanders) scored an empty-net goal with 2:27 remaining to make it 3-1.
Kreider scored his second of the game with the net empty to make it 4-1 with 1:41 left.
Curtis McElhinney (Toronto Maple Leafs) made 36 saves for Canada.
"They had eight power plays...that was the difference in this game," Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) said. "I thought we never really peaked. For some reason we were always a little bit off."
Saturday, May 19
Sweden 6, United States 0: Anders Nilsson (Vancouver Canucks) made 41 saves and Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville Predators) scored twice for defending champion Sweden, which has won 16 straight games at the World Championship.
Sweden will play Switzerland for the gold medal on Sunday (2:15 p.m. ET; NHLN). Sweden defeated Canada 2-1 in a shootout to win the 2017 final.
Arvidsson gave Sweden a 1-0 lead 5:17 into the game. Magnus Paajarvi (Ottawa Senators), Patric Hornqvist (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Mattias Janmark (Dallas Stars) scored in a span of 3:09 in the second period to give Sweden a 4-0 lead.
"It means a lot," Hornqvist said. "That's why we are here. We're here for winning."
Arvidsson scored at 8:53 of the third to give Sweden a 5-0 lead with United States goalie Keith Kinkaid (New Jersey Devils) pulled for an extra attacker.
Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings) made it 6-0 with 2:59 remaining. Mikael Backlund (Calgary Flames) had three assists.
Kinkaid made 14 saves for the United States, which will face Canada for the bronze medal (9:45 a.m. ET; NHLN).
"I don't know if we really got outplayed today," said Patrick Kane, whose eight-game point streak ended. "Just made too many mistakes. They have a lot of good players over there and they made us pay when we made mistakes. It's tough. We came here to win gold. Right now it stings a little bit but we will have to regroup."
Sweden went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, and Paajarvi scored a shorthanded goal.
"Our PK saved us," Hornqvist said. "I think we scored on the opportunities they gave us.
Switzerland 3, Canada 2: Sven Andrighetto (Colorado Avalanche) had two assists and Leonardo Genoni made 43 saves to help Switzerland advance to the gold-medal game.
Switzerland advanced to the final for the first time since 2013, when it lost 5-1 to Sweden.
"I love playing Sweden," forward Kevin Fiala (Predators) told the IIHF website. "I moved there when I was 16, so it's going to be a really big game for me. But I'm just going to focus on my game and try to win."
Gaetan Haas tipped in an Andrighetto shot for a power-play goal at 4:14 of the third period to give Switzerland a 3-1 lead.
Gregory Hoffman scored a power-play goal on assists from Fiala and Andrighetto at 9:40 of the second period to give Switzerland a 2-1 lead.
Bo Horvat (Vancouver Canucks) tied the game at 1-1 on a pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois (Columbus Blue Jackets) at 7:20 of the second period.
Dean Kukan (Blue Jackets) assisted on a goal by Tristan Scherwey with 1:59 remaining in the first period to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead.
Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues) scored with 2:07 remaining to make it 3-2. Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and Brayden Schenn (Blues) got the assists.
Darcy Kuemper (Arizona Coyotes) made 14 saves for Canada.
Friday, May 18
The United States, Sweden, Canada and Switzerland have advanced to the semifinals on Saturday. Each won its quarterfinal game by one goal Thursday, with Canada needing overtime to defeat Russia. The bronze-medal and gold-medal games are Sunday. The NHL is well-represented among the final four teams.
Here's a look at the semifinal pairings:
United States vs. Sweden (9:15 a.m. ET; NHLN, TSN, RDS)
The U.S. bounced back from a 6-2 loss to Finland in its final Group B game to defeat the Czech Republic 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Though the U.S. has finished in the top four at the Worlds in three of the past four years, it's seeking its first gold medal since 1960, when the Squaw Valley Olympics doubled as the World Championship.
Captain Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) continues to power the U.S. He leads the tournament in scoring with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in eight games and has set U.S. records for points and assists in a single World Championship. Kane scored two goals against the Czech Republic, including the game-winner in the third period.
Sweden, the defending champion, is the only team that hasn't lost a game in the tournament, winning seven games in regulation and one in overtime. Anaheim Ducks forward Rickard Rakell leads Sweden with 13 points (six goals, seven assists), and goaltender Anders Nilsson (Vancouver Canucks) has five wins, two shutouts and has allowed six goals. His 1.20 goals-against average leads the tournament, and his .943 save percentage is second to the .944 of Denmark's Frederik Andersen (Toronto Maple Leafs).
Canada vs. Switzerland (1:15 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN, RDS)
Captain Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) had three assists, the last on the overtime goal by Ryan O'Reilly (Buffalo Sabres) against Russia.
McDavid leads Canada in scoring and is third in the tournament with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in eight games. He led the NHL in scoring for the second straight season with 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists) in 82 games.
A victory would give Canada the chance to take home a medal for the fourth consecutive year. Canada won gold in 2015 and 2016, and silver in 2017.
Switzerland, which finished fourth in Group A, upset Group B winner Finland in the quarterfinals, hanging on for a 3-2 win.
Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota Wild) has eight points (three goals, five assists), tied for the Switzerland lead with Enzo Corvi, and Sven Andrighetto (Colorado Avalanche) has seven points (two goals, five assists).
Schwartz to miss remainder of tournament: Forward Jaden Schwartz (Blues) will miss the remainder of the World Championship for Canada because of an upper-body injury.
Schwartz, 25, had four assists in eight tournament games after scoring 24 goals and 35 assists in 59 games for the Blues.
Schwartz will be ready for the start of Blues training camp in September.
Thursday, May 17
Quarterfinals
United States 3, Czech Republic 2:Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) scored his second goal of the game at 6:58 of the third period to break a tie and put the U.S. into the semifinals against Sweden on Saturday.
Kane and Cam Atkinson (Columbus Blue Jackets) scored in the first period to give the United States a 2-0 lead. But the Czech Republic tied the game 2-2 in the second on goals 5:59 apart by Michal Repik and Martin Necas, the Carolina Hurricanes' first-round pick (No. 12) in the 2017 NHL Draft.
Kane broke the tie when he scored on a breakaway.
Derek Ryan (Hurricanes) had two assists for the United States, and Keith Kinkaid (New Jersey Devils) made 24 saves.
Canada 5, Russia 4 (OT):Ryan O'Reilly (Buffalo Sabres) scored a power-play goal at 4:57 of overtime to put Canada into the semifinals against Switzerland.
Russia forced overtime when Artem Anisimov (Blackhawks) beat Darcy Kuemper (Arizona Coyotes) with a backhand shot from the right face-off circle at 14:34 of the third period. But after Kirill Kaprizov, a Minnesota Wild prospect, was called for slashing at 3:35 of overtime, Canada scored its third power-play goal of the game when O'Reilly set up in the slot and deflected a pass from Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) into the net for the game-winner.
McDavid had three assists. Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues) had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Oilers), Kyle Turris (Nashville Predators) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (Blue Jackets) scored for Canada.
Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev (Toronto Maple Leafs) had three assists for Russia.
Sweden 3, Latvia 2: Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville Predators) scored the go-ahead goal 1:49 into the third period, and unbeaten Sweden (7-1-0-0) advanced to the semifinals against the United States.
Filip Forsberg (Predators) put Sweden in front 1-0 with a goal at 6:36 of the second period. Latvia's Teddy Blueger, a second-round pick (No. 52) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 NHL Draft, tied the game 1-1 at 11:59.
Arvidsson's goal put the defending champions ahead 2-1, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes), who assisted on Forsberg's goal, made it 3-1 at 6:27. Rudolfs Balcers, a fifth-round pick (No. 142) by the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL Draft who played with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League this season, got Latvia within 3-2 at 10:21.
Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings) had two assists for Sweden.
Switzerland 3, Finland 2: Switzerland, the fourth-place finisher in Group A, upset Group B winner Finland to advance to the semifinals against Canada.
Finland led 1-0 on a first-period goal by Markus Nutivaara (Columbus Blue Jackets) before Switzerland scored three times in a 3:55 span midway through the second period against Harri Sateri (Florida Panthers). Kevin Fiala (Predators) and Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota Wild) assisted on Enzo Corvi's goal at 9:13 that made it 1-1. Timo Meier (Sharks) assisted on Joel Vermin's goal at 12:32 to give Switzerland a 2-1 lead, and Gregory Hoffman scored at 13:08 to make it 3-1.
Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche), who assisted on Nutivaara's goal, made it 3-2 when he scored on the power play at 8:20 of the third period.
Wednesday, May 15
The United States, Czech Republic, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Latvia, Finland and Switzerland have advanced to the quarterfinals. The four winners advance to the semifinals on Saturday. The bronze-medal and gold-medal games are Sunday. The NHL is well-represented among the final eight teams.
Here's a look at the quarterfinal pairings:
United States vs. Czech Republic: 10:15 a.m. ET
The United States (4-2-0-1) won its first six games in Group B but had to settle for second place after a 6-2 loss to first-place Finland on Tuesday. Though the U.S. has finished in the top four at the Worlds in three of the past four years, it's seeking its first gold medal since 1960, when the Winter Olympics doubled as the World Championship.
Captain Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) has powered the U.S. His 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in seven games are tied with Finland forward Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) for the tournament scoring lead, and Kane has set U.S. records for points and assists in a single World Championship.
The Czech Republic (3-3-0-1) was third in Group A. David Pastrnak's (Boston Bruins) four goals are tied with Dmitrij Jaskin (St. Louis Blues) despite playing in three fewer games. Jaskin's seven points are one behind forward Dominik Kubalik for the team lead.
Russia vs. Canada: 10:15 a.m. ET
Canada (4-1-1-1), the third-place finisher in Group B, plays Russia (5-0-1-1), the Group A runner-up. A victory would give Canada the chance to play for a medal for the fourth consecutive year after winning gold in 2015 and 2016, and silver in 2017
Captain Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) leads Canada in scoring and is fourth in the tournament with 13 points (five goals, eight assists). McDavid led the NHL in scoring for the second straight season with 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists). Darcy Kuemper (Arizona Coyotes) and Curtis McElhinney (Toronto Maple Leafs) have shared the goaltending, but Kuemper has given up one goal in the past two games and is coming off a 3-0 shutout of Germany on Tuesday.
Former NHL star Pavel Datsyuk leads Russia with 10 points (two goals, eight assists). Evgenii Dadonov (Florida Panthers) has six points (two goals, four assists).
Sweden vs. Latvia: 2:15 a.m. ET
Anaheim Ducks forward Rickard Rakell (12 points; six goals, six assists) and New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (nine points; four goals, five assists) have sparked Sweden (6-1-0-0), which finished first in Group A with 20 points and was the only team not to lose a game.
Latvia (3-1-2-1) finished fourth in Group B, earning a quarterfinal berth by defeating Denmark 1-0 on Tuesday.
Finland vs. Switzerland: 2:15 p.m. ET
Finland (5-0-1-1) won Group B, earning the head-to-head tiebreaker by defeating the United States. Aho's 17 points are tied with Kane for the tournament lead and Hurricanes teammate Teuvo Teravainen is third with 14 points (five goals, nine assists). Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche) has nine points (four goals, five assists) and goalie Harri Sateri (Florida Panthers) won all four of his starts and has a 1.00 goals-against average.
Nino Niederreiter's (Minnesota Wild) seven points (three goals, four assists) are tied for most on Switzerland with Sven Andrighetto (Colorado Avalanche) and forward Enzo Corvi. Switzerland went 3-1-1-2 to finish fourth in Group A.
Pettersson out with broken thumb: Vancouver Canucks prospect and Sweden forward Elias Pettersson will need surgery to repair a broken thumb sustained during a preliminary-round game against Switzerland on Sunday.
He is expected to need 3-4 weeks to recover, but it's not expected to have an impact on his offseason training plans.
Pettersson, 19, was the No. 5 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft. He led the Swedish Hockey League with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) and a plus-27 rating. He set an SHL record for points by an under-20 player in the league, which began play in 1975-76.
He has three points (one goal, two assists) in five games at the World Championship.
Tuesday, May 15
Finland 6, United States 2: Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) scored three goals and Finland won Group B by handing the United States its first loss in the tournament.
Aho scored twice in the first period and completed his hat trick by hitting the empty net at 16:45 of the third. Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche) and Kasperi Kapanen (Toronto Maple Leafs) scored for Finland (5-0-1-1, 16 points), which will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) scored a goal and had an assist for the United States (4-2-0-1, 16 points). The U.S. will face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
"We were just getting frustrated," U.S. defenseman Will Butcher (New Jersey Devils) told the IIHF website. "We haven't been beaten like that in the tournament, but it's better to lose now than later. I don't think we were ready tonight. They played a good game and got some bounces, and that's how hockey goes sometimes. It [stinks] right now, but we'll learn from it and keep going. Overall, we need to be better and we will."
Sweden 3, Russia 1: Defending champion Sweden defeated Russia to finish first in Group A.
Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) tied the game 1-1 with a power-play goal midway through the second period, and Rickard Rakell put Sweden (6-1-0-0, 20 points) ahead when he scored at 16:04. Mattias Ekholm scored an empty-net goal with 1:05 remaining in the third period.
Sweden will play Latvia in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Kirill Kaprizov scored in the first period for Russia (5-0-1-1, 16 points), which finished second and will play Canada in the quarterfinals.
Switzerland 5, France 1:Switzerland earned a berth in the quarterfinals by defeating France in its final Group A game.
Kevin Fiala (Nashville Predators) was one of five players to score for Switzerland (3-1-1-2, 12 points). Mirco Mueller (Devils) had two assists.
France (2-0-0-5, six points) finished sixth. It was the final game as coach of France's national team after 14 seasons for Winnipeg native Dave Henderson. He led France to the top tier in the IIHF in 2007 and has helped it remain there for more than a decade.
Canada 3, Germany 0: Canada earned third place in Group B by shutting out Germany.
Darcy Kuemper (Arizona Coyotes) made 12 saves and Canada (4-1-1-1, 15 points) got goals from Brayden Schenn (St. Louis Blues), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers) and Tyson Jost (Colorado Avalanche). Connor McDavid (Oilers) had two assists.
Canada will play Russia in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Latvia 1, Denmark 0: Latvia spoiled the host team's hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals when Elvis Merzlikins, a third-round pick (No. 76) by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2014 NHL Draft, made 19 saves for the shutout. Andris Dzerins scored at 9:14 of the first period for Latvia (3-1-2-1, 13 points), which finished fourth in Group B.
Frederik Andersen (Maple Leafs) made 27 saves for Denmark (3-1-0-3, 11 points).
Slovakia 7, Belarus 4: Tomas Jurco (Blackhawks) scored two goals and had an assist, and former NHL forward Ladislav Nagy had five assists for Slovakia (3-0-2-2, 11 points), which finished fifth in Group A.
Belarus (0-0-0-7, zero points) was already assured of relegation for next year.
Wednesday games
No games scheduled
Monday, May 14
Canada 2, Latvia 1, OT:Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) scored 46 seconds into overtime, batting in his own reound to lift Canada.
Anthony Beauvillier (New York Islanders) scored, and Jordan Eberle (Islanders), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa Senators) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Oilers) each had an assist for Canada (3-1-1-1, 12 points) which is in third place in Group B and plays Germany on Tuesday.
Darcy Kuemper (Minnesota Wild) made 14 saves for Canada
Kristers Gudlevskis
(Islanders) made 31 saves for Latvia (2-1-2-1, 10 points), which plays Denmark on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals.
Czech Republic 4, Austria 3:
Tomas Hyka
(Vegas Golden Knights) had two goals and an assist and
Filip Chytil
(Rangers) had a goal in a Group A game.
Radek Faksa (Dallas Stars) had an assist for the Czech Republic (3-3-0-1, 15 points), which finished third in the group and advanced to the quarterfinals where they will play the runner up from Group B.
Michael Raffl (Philadelphia Flyers) scored twice for Austria (1-0-1-5, four points) which finished in seventh place in Group A.
Russia 4, Slovakia 0: Maxim Mamin (Florida Panthers) had a goal and Nikita Soshnikov (St. Louis Blues) had two assists.
Igor Shesterkin
(Rangers) made 23 saves for his second shutout for Russia (5-0-1-0, 16 points) which is in second place in Group A and wil play Sweden (5-1-0-0, 17 points) for first-place on Tuesday.
Slovakia (2-0-2-2, eight points) plays Belarus on Tuesday.
Norway 3, Korea 0:Tobias Lindstrom, Thomas Valkvae Olsen and Jonas Holos each scored a goal, and Lars Haugen made 17 saves for the shutout.
Norway (1-1-1-4, six points) finished in seventh place in Group B.
Korea finished in last place in Group B (0-0-0-7, zero points).
Tuesday games
Group A
Switzerland at France: 6:15 AM ET
Belarus at Slovakia: 10:15 AM ET
Russia at Sweden: 2:15 PM ET
Group B
Finland at USA: 6:15 AM ET
Canada at Germany: 10:15 AM ET
Latvia at Denmark: 2:15 PM ET
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Sunday, May 13
United States 9, Norway 3: Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) and Cam Atkinson (Columbus Blue Jackets) each had three points to help the United States earn their sixth consecutive victory at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.
The win gave the United States (4-2-0-0, 16 points) a three-point lead over Finland in Group B. The U.S. ends its round-robin schedule against Finland on Tuesday and has outscored opponents 32-6 in its past five games.
"We have a lot of guys that can make plays, a lot of talent on the team, and hard workers." Kane, who scored two power-play goals, told the IIHF website. "Sometimes you don't except these games to get so high in scoring, but it's good to see everyone getting in on the action. It wasn't just one or two guys. It was everyone."
Alec Martinez (Los Angeles Kings), Anders Lee (New York Islanders), Neal Pionk (New York Rangers),
Colin White
(Ottawa Senators) and Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins) scored. Nick Bonino (Nashville Predators) had two assists. Goalies Keith Kinkaid (New Jersey Devils) and Scott Darling (Carolina Hurricanes) combined to make 18 saves.
Norway (0-1-1-4, three points) plays Korea on Monday.
Sweden 5, Switzlerand 3: Mikael Backlund (Calgary Flames) had a goal and three assists to lead Sweden.
John Klingberg (Dallas Stars), Patric Hornqvist (Pittsburgh Penguins), Adam Larsson (Edmonton Oilers) and Magnus Paajarvi (Senators) each scored for Sweden.
Mika Zibanejad (Rangers), Hampus Lindholm (Anaheim Ducks) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes) each had an assist.
Sweden (5-1-0-0, 17 points), which clinched first place in Group A, plays Russia on Tuesday.
Kevin Fiala (Predators) had an assist for Switzerland (2-1-1-2, nine points), which is in fourth place in Group A and plays France on Tuesday.
Germany 3, Finland 2, OT: Markus Eisenschmid scored at 2:00 of overtime to give Germany a win in a Group B game.
Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) scored for Finland to tie the game at 2-2 with 2:06 remaining in the third period. Eeli Tolvanen (Predators) scored a goal and Teuvo Terravainen (Hurricanes) and Mikael Granlund (Minnesota Wild) each had an assist.
Harri Sateri
(Florida Panthers) made 12 saves for Finland (4-0-1-1, 13 points).
Germany (1-1-2-2, seven points), which is in sixth place in Group B, plays Canada on Tuesday.
Czech Republic 6, France 0:David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) scored two first-period goals to spark the Czech Republic.
Dmitrij Jaskin (St. Louis Blues) had a goal and an assist and David Krejci (Bruins) had an assist to pace the Czech Republic (2-3-0-1, 12 points), who are third in Group A.
David Rittich
(Calgary Flames) made 10 saves for the shutout. The Czechs outshot France 55-10.
"Listen, it's not often that you see a game as easy as that one," Czech captain Roman Cervenka said. "Even against France we've had hard games in the past. We just did really well in the first period and after that it was much easier. We could play how we wanted."
The Czech Republic ends group play against Austria on Monday. France (2-0-0-4, six points) faces Switzerland on Tuesday.
Monday games
Group A
RUS vs. SVK, 10;15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
CZE vs. AUT, 2:15 p.m. ET
Group B
KOR vs. NOR, 10:15 a.m. ET
CAN vs. LAT, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Saturday, May 12
Finland 5, Canada 1: Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche) scored two goals in the first period to help Finland move into second place in Group B by defeating Canada.
Rantanen scored an unassisted goal at 8:50 of the first period to give Finland (4-0-0-1, 12 points) a 1-0 lead. He made it 3-1 at 16:35 with a power-play goal. Eeli Tolvanen (Nashville Predators) and Teuvo Teravainen (Carolina Hurricanes) scored 10 seconds apart early in the third period for Finland.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa Senators) scored in the first period for Canada (3-0-1-1, 10 points), which dropped to fourth behind the United States, Denmark and Finland.
Russia 4, Switzerland 3: Evgenii Dadonov (Florida Panthers) scored a go-ahead power-play goal in the second period, and Russia defeated Switzerland in a Group A game.
Dadonov's power-play goal 7:47 into the second period put Russia ahead 2-1, and former NHL defenseman Nikita Nesterov made it 3-1 at 19:47. Artem Anisimov (Columbus Blue Jackets) and longtime Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk each had two assists for Russia (4-0-1-0, 13 points).
Sven Andrighetto (Avalanche) had a goal and an assist in the third period for Switzerland (2-1-1-1, nine points)
Sweden 4, Slovakia 3 (OT): Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) scored a power-play goal at 4:18 of overtime to give defending champion Sweden a Group A win against Slovakia.
Zibanejad was credited with the winning goal when his pass to Rickard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks) was deflected into the net by Slovakia defenseman Andrej Sekera (Edmonton Oilers).
Gustav Nyquist (Detroit Red Wings) and Jacob de la Rose (Montreal Canadiens) scored second-period goals to help unbeaten Sweden (4-1-0-0, 14 points) take a 3-1 lead. But former NHL forward Ladislav Nagy set up a goal by defenseman Marek Daloga late in the second period to make it 3-2, then scored at 6:54 of the third period to tie the game 3-3.
Tomas Jurco (Chicago Blackhawks) had a first-period goal for Slovakia (2-0-2-1, eight points).
Denmark 3, Korea 1: Frans Nielsen (Red Wings) scored a goal and had an assist to help Denmark defeat winless Korea in a Group B game.
Nielsen gave Denmark (3-1-0-2, 11 points) a 1-0 lead when he scored 2:55 into the second period. He assisted on Nichlas Hardt's insurance goal that made it 3-1 with 3:25 remaining in the third period. Oliver Bjorkstrand (Blue Jackets) assisted on Jesper Jensen's goal 2:14 into the third period that put Denmark ahead 2-1.
Kisung Kim scored for Korea (0-0-0-6, zero points).
Latvia 3, Germany 1: Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, a third-round pick (No. 76) by the Blue Jackets in the 2014 NHL Draft, made 33 saves to help Latvia (2-1-1-1, nine points) win its Group B game.
Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) had a third-period assist for Germany, but the Olympic silver medalists (1-0-2-2, five points) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Austria 4, Belarus 0: Michael Raffl (Philadelphia Flyers) scored one of three power-play goals for Austria, which assured that it will remain in the IIHF's top tier by defeating Belarus in a Group A game.
Austria (1-0-1-4, four points) became the first newly promoted team since France in 2008 to remain in the top tier. Belarus (0-0-0-6, zero points) will be relegated to Division I Group A next year.
Sunday games
Group A
FRA vs. CZE, 10;15 a.m. ET
SUI vs. SWE, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Group B
NOR vs. USA, 1015 a.m. ET (NHLN)
GER vs. FIN, 2:15 p.m. ET
#
Friday, May 11
United States 13, Korea 1: Defenseman Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins) scored two goals in the first period of his first game at the tournament, helping the United States stay unbeaten in Group B.
Korea (0-0-0-5, zero points) took a 1-0 lead when Jin Hui Ahn scored a power-play goal 5:23 into the first period. But Anders Lee (New York Islanders) tied the game 1-1 at 8:35, and Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) put the United States ahead 2-1 at 12:56 with a power-play goal. McAvoy, who joined the United States (3-2-0-0, 13 points) after the Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday, scored at 13:29 and 19:16 to make it 4-1.
McAvoy also assisted on a second-period goal by Kane and on each of the two goals scored by Cam Atkinson (Columbus Blue Jackets).
USA Hockey said Friday that Nashville Predators center Nick Bonino will be added to the roster. The Predators were eliminated from the playoffs when they lost Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Goaltender
Charlie Lindgren
(Montreal Canadiens) also joined the team.
Denmark 3, Norway 0: Frederik Andersen (Maple Leafs) made 21 saves and Denmark blanked Norway in a Group B game.
Nicklas Jensen, who played in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, scored two power-play goals for Denmark (2-1-0-2, eight points), which moved into fourth place. Norway (0-1-1-3, three points) is sixth. The top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals.
Czech Republic 3, Belarus 0: Libor Sulak, Roman Horak, and Michael Repik scored for the Czech Republic, which kept Belarus winless in Group A.
David Krejci (Bruins) and Tomas Plekanec (Maple Leafs) each had an assist for the Czech Republic (1-3-0-1, nine points). Belarus (0-0-0-5, zero points) lost its second straight game under Sergei Pushkov, who replaced Dave Lewis as coach three games into the tournament.
France 5, Austria 2: Alexandre Texier, a second-round pick (No. 45) by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2017 NHL Draft, had three assists to help France to its second victory in Group A.
Damien Fleury scored his second goal of the game at 14:11 of the second period to put France (2-0-0-3, six points) ahead 3-2. Michael Raffl (Philadelphia Flyers) scored a goal for winless Austria (0-0-1-4, one point).
Saturday games
Group A
SVK vs. SWE, 6:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
AUT vs. BLR, 10:15 a.m. ET
RUS vs. SUI, 2:15 p.m. ET
Group B
LAT vs. GER, 6:15 a.m. ET
DEN vs. KOR, 10:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
CAN vs FIN, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Thursday, May 10
United States 3, Latvia 2 (OT):Cam Atkinson (Columbus Blue Jackets) scored a power-play goal 1:23 into overtime to help the United States remain unbeaten in Group B.
Atkinson took a pass from Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames) near the left post and flipped the puck over the pad of Latvia goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, a third-round pick (No. 76) by the Blue Jackets in the 2014 NHL Draft, for the win. Chris Kreider (New York Rangers) scored in the first period and Colin White (Ottawa Senators) tied the game late in the second for the United States (2-2-0-0, 10 points). Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) and Alex DeBrincat (Blackhawks) each had two assists.
"Give credit to Latvia for a hard-fought game," United States coach Jeff Blashill (Detroit Red Wings) told USA Hockey. "Every team in this tournament is dangerous and it's nice to walk out of here with a win over a well-coached team."
USA Hockey said defenseman Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins) will join the team. The Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Latvia (1-1-1-1, six points) moved into fourth place in Group B. The top four teams in each group make the quarterfinals.
Canada 5, Norway 0: Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) scored three goals, and Bo Horvat (Vancouver Canucks) scored two for Canada in its Group B win.
McDavid scored twice in the first period and completed his hat trick at 8:03 of the second. Horvat scored a shorthanded goal in the first period and got one at even strength early in the third for Canada (3-0-1-0, 10 points). Curtis McElhinney (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Darcy Kuemper (Arizona Coyotes) combined to shut out Norway (0-1-1-2, three points).
Czech Republic 4, Russia 3 (OT): David Pastrnak (Bruins) scored at 3:23 of overtime for the Czech Republic, which handed Russia its first loss in Group A.
Pastrnak finished with two goals and one assist, and Boston teammate David Krejci scored a goal and had three assists for the Czech Republic (0-3-0-1, six points).
Russia (3-0-1-0, 10 points) had not given up a goal in the tournament and had outscored its opponents 21-0 until Krejci tied the game 1-1 at 14:41 of the first period.
Slovakia 3, France 1:David Bondra, son of former NHL forward Peter Bondra, scored one goal and assisted on another to help Slovakia (2-0-1-1, seven points) win in Group A.
Bondra scored 5:37 into the first period to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead and assisted on David Buc's goal at 2:03 of the second period that made it 2-0. France (1-0-0-3, three points) cut it to 2-1 when Valentin Claireaux scored at 13:39 of the second.
Texier has NHL dreams
Alexandre Texier isn't focused on becoming the face of hockey in France. Texier was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round (No. 45) of the 2017 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old forward hopes
his performance at the World Championship
is another step toward his goal of playing in the NHL.
Friday games
Group A
FRA vs. AUT, 10;15 a.m. ET
BLR vs. CZE, 2:15 p.m. ET
Group B
DEN vs. NOR, 1015 a.m. ET (NHLN)
USA vs. KOR, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Wednesday, May 9
Denmark 3, Finland 2: Frans Nielsen (Detroit Red Wings) and Mikkel Boedker (San Jose Sharks) assisted on Nichlas Hardt's game-winning power-play goal with 1:59 remaining in the third period and Denmark handed Finland its first loss in Group B.
Nielsen and Oliver Bjorkstrand (Columbus Blue Jackets) scored in the second period for Denmark (1-1-0-2, five points. Boedker, who joined Denmark after the Sharks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday, assisted on all three goals. Frederik Andersen (Toronto Maple Leafs) made 33 saves.
Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) and Mikael Granlund (Minnesota Wild) scored for Finland (3-0-0-1, nine points).
Sweden 7, Austria 0: Rickard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks) scored two goals in the second period and Sweden stayed unbeaten in Group A against winless Austria (0-0-1-3, one point).
Mattias Janmark (Dallas Stars) had a goal and two assists, and Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings, Gustav Nyquist (Red Wings), Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) and Magnus Paajarvi (Ottawa Senators) scored for Sweden (4-0-0-0, 12 points), which has outscored its opponents 19-2.
Germany 6, Korea 1: Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) scored a goal and had two assists for Germany (1-0-2-1, five points), which defeated Korea for its first victory in Group B.
Draisaitl gave Germany a 1-0 lead when he scored midway through the first period, set up a power-play goal by Patrick Hager midway through the second and the second of Yasin Ehliz's two goals in the third.
Brock Radunske, a third-round pick (No. 79) by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2002 NHL Draft who has played in the American Hockey League and the ECHL, scored a power-play goal in the third period for Korea (0-0-0-4, zero points).
Switzerland 5, Belarus 2: Timo Meier (Sharks) scored a goal and had two assists for Switzerland (2-1-1-0, nine points), which defeated winless Belarus in Group A.
Meier, who joined Switzerland after the Sharks were eliminated from the playoffs, assisted on a goal by Joel Vermin with 15 seconds remaining in the second period that put Switzerland ahead 3-2. He scored at 6:44 of the third period to give Switzerland a 5-2 lead.
Belarus (0-0-0-4, zero points) lost in its first game after Sergei Pushkov replaced Dave Lewis as coach on Tuesday.
Rangers counting on Andersson, Chytil
Lias Andersson
(Sweden) and
Filip Chytil
(Czech Republic) are opponents at the World Championship. But they're hoping to help make
the New York Rangers' rebuild a quick one
as teammates next season.
Thursday games
Group A
SVK vs. FRA, 10:15 a.m. ET
CZE vs. RUS, 2:15 p.m. ET
Group B
USA vs. LAT, 10:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
NOR vs. CAN, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Tuesday, May 8
Finland 7, Norway 0:Mikael Granlund (Minnesota Wild) scored a goal and had two assists in a four-goal second period that powered unbeaten Finland (3-0-0-0, nine points) past Norway (0-1-1-1, three points) and into first place in Group B.
Teuvo Teravainen (Carolina Hurricanes) had a goal and an assist in the second period, and Harri Sateri (Florida Panthers) made eight saves for the shutout. Finland has outscored its first three opponents 23-2.
Czech Republic 5, Switzerland 4 (SO):Dmitrij Jaskin (St. Louis Blues) and Michal Repik,who spent four seasons with the Panthers, rallied the Czech Republic from a two-goal deficit in the second period. Repik scored the only goal of the shootout in the fifth round to give the Czech Republic (0-2-0-1, four points) a Group A win.
Nino Niederreiter (Wild) scored two goals for Switzerland (1-1-1-0, six points).
Slovakia 4, Austria 2: Tomas Jurco (Chicago Blackhawks) and
Christian Jaros
(Ottawa Senators) scored in the second period to help Slovakia end an eight-game losing streak at the World Championship with its first win in Group A. Jurco's goal 2:13 into the second period put Slovakia (1-0-1-1, four points) ahead 2-1, and Jaros made it 3-1 at 9:00.
Michael Raffl (Philadelphia Flyers) had a third-period assist for Austria (0-0-1-2, one point).
Latvia 5, Korea 0: Rudolfs Balcers, a fifth-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL Draft, scored a goal and had an assist to help Latvia to victory in a Group B game.
Latvia (1-1-0-1, five points) bounced back from an 8-1 loss to Finland on Sunday. Korea is 0-0-0-3.
Lewis steps down as Belarus coach
Belarus replaced coach Dave Lewis on Tuesday after losing its first three games.
Lewis, 64, a former NHL player who coached the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins, had coached Belarus since the 2014-15 season. The Belarusian ice hockey federation said the move was made by mutual consent and that assistant Sergei Pushkov will coach the team for the remainder of the tournament.
Belarus is last in Group A and has been outscored 17-2, losing to Sweden (5-0), France (6-2) and Russia (6-0) with four games remaining. The bottom two teams at the tournament will be relegated from the top tier.
Wednesday schedule
Group A
SUI vs. BLR, 10:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
SWE vs. AUT, 2:15 p.m. ET
Group B
GER vs. KOR, 10:15 a.m. ET
FIN vs. DEN, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Monday, May 7
United States 3, Germany 0: Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) had one goal and one assist to help the United States (2-1-0-0, eight points) remain undefeated in Group B play.
Kane and Derek Ryan (Carolina Hurricanes) each scored on the power play.
"We had some power plays and had some good chances, but then we got one on a 5-on-3, and it's great to capitalize on those." Kane, the U.S. captain, told the IIHF website. "And then we got one the next one too. I think in a tournament like this it's huge to get the power play going and get some confidence."
Alex DeBrincat (Blackhawks) also scored for the U.S. and goalie Keith Kinkaid (New Jersey Devils) made 25 saves for his second consecutive shutout.
Germany fell to 0-0-2-1 (one points).
Canada 7, Denmark 1:Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers) scored two goals and Connor McDavid (Oilers) had three assists to help Canada (2-0-1-0) win its second straight game.
Canada has seven points and is second in Group B, one point behind the United States. Canada defeated Korea 10-0 on Sunday after a tournament-opening 5-4 shootout loss to the U.S. on Friday.
Josh Bailey (New York Islanders) had a goal and an assist, and Ryan O'Reilly (Buffalo Sabres), Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers), Jordan Eberle (Islanders) and Tyson Jost (Colorado Avalanche) scored for Canada. Curtis McElhinney (Toronto Maple Leafs) made 16 saves.
Jesper Jensen Aabo scored for host Denmark (0-1-0-2, two points), which is sixth in Group B.
Russia 6, Belarus 0:Russia retained its hold on first place in Group A with a convincing victory. Each of Russia's three wins (3-0-0-0, nine points) have come via shutout while outscoring opponents 20-0.
Pavel Datsyuk had two goals and an assist. Ilya Kablukov had a goal and an assist. Maxim Shalunov, Maxim Mamin (Florida Panthers) and Kirill Kaprizov also scored. Evgenii Dadonov (Panthers) and Alexander Barabanov each had two assists.
"We're not disappointed that we couldn't get a seventh goal," Shalunov said. "We were up against a good team and 6-0 isn't a bad result."
New York Rangers prospect Igor Shestyorkin made 13 saves for Russia against Belarus (0-0-3-0).
Sweden 4, France 0:Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes) and Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks) each had a goal and an assist for Sweden (2-0-0-0), which has six points, second to Russia (3-0-0-0, nine points) in Group A.
Rickard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks) and Mikael Backlund (Calgary Flames) scored for Sweden. Magnus Hellberg made 14 saves.
France (1-0-0-2, three points) is fourth in Group A.
Sunday, May 6
Canada 10, Korea 0: Tyson Jost (Colorado Avalanche) scored two goals and had an assist to help Canada to an easy victory in Group B. Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) had a goal and two assists, and Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders) contributed three assists for Canada (1-0-1-0, four points), which bounced back after losing its opener to the United States in a shootout.
Curtis McElhinney (Toronto Maple Leafs) made 25 saves and was rarely tested.
Korea (0-0-0-2, zero points) has been outscored 18-1 in losing its first two games.
Russia 7, Austria 0: Artem Anisimov (Chicago Blackhawks) and Minnesota Wild forward prospect Kirill Kaprizov each had a goal and an assist to help Russia to its second straight victory in Group A. Igor Shesterkin, selected by the New York Rangers in the fourth round (No. 118) in the 2014 NHL Draft, made 18 saves. Russia (2-0-0-0, six points) has outscored its first two opponents 14-0.
Sweden 3, Czech Republic 2: Rickard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks) scored one goal and had two assists for defending champion Sweden in its Group A game.
Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) scored the game-winning goal for Sweden (2-0-0-0, six points) at 3:11 of the third period. Tomas Hyka, who played 10 games with the Vegas Golden Knights this season, and Filip Hronek, a second-round choice (No. 53) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2016 NHL Draft, scored for the Czech Republic (0-1-0-1, two points).
Finland 8, Latvia 1:Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) had two goals and two assists and his Hurricanes teammate Teuvo Teravainen had one goal and three assists for Finland (2-0-0-0, six points) in a Group B game.
Markus Nutivaara (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Kasperi Kapanen (Toronto Maple Leafs) each had a goal, and Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche) had two assists.
Latvia is 0-1-0-1 (two points).
Norway 5, Germany 4 (SO): Norway scored three times against Germany in the shootout to win its Group B game.
Norway is 0-1-1-0 (three points). Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) had three assists for Germany (0-0-2-0, two points).
Switzerland 2, Slovakia 0:Mirco Mueller (New Jersey Devils) and Tristan Scherwey each had a goal and an assist for Switzerland (1-1-0-0, five points) to win its Group A game against Slovakia (0-0-1-1, two points).
Need to know
Vancouver Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson is making a name for himself representing Sweden at the Worlds. NHL.com correspondent
Aaron Vickers has his story.
Monday schedule
Group A
BLS vs. RUS, 10:15 a.m. ET
SWE vs. FRA, 2:15 p.m. ET
Group B
USA vs. GER, 10:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
CAN vs. DEN, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Saturday, May 5
United States 4, Denmark 0: New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid made 20 saves and the United States won for the second time in as many days in Group B.
Forward Chris Kreider (New York Rangers) and defensemen Will Butcher (Devils) and Nick Jensen (Detroit Red Wings) each had a goal and an assist for the U.S. Cam Atkinson (Columbus Blue Jackets), whose goal in the sixth round of the shootout gave the United States a 5-4 victory against Canada on Friday, also scored.
Frederik Andersen (Toronto Maple Leafs) made 39 saves for Denmark, which defeated Germany 3-2 in overtime on Friday.
Czech Republic 3, Slovakia 2 (OT): Dmitrij Jaskin (St. Louis Blues) scored at 2:09 of overtime to give the Czech Republic a win in its first game in Group A.
Martin Necas, the first-round pick (No. 12) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2017 NHL Draft, tied the game 2-2 when he scored for the Czech Republic with 10 seconds remaining in the third period. Defenseman Andrej Sekera (Edmonton Oilers) had a goal and an assist for Slovakia.
Switzerland 3, Austria 2 (OT): Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota Wild) scored one goal and assisted on the game-winner by Enzo Corvi at 3:18 of overtime to help Switzerland to a Group A win in its tournament opener.
Latvia 3, Norway 2 (OT): Rudolfs Balcers, a San Jose Sharks prospect, scored his second goal of the game 24 seconds into overtime to give Latvia a Group B win in its first game of the tournament. Balcers, selected in the fifth round (No. 142) of the 2015 NHL Draft, played this season with San Jose of the American Hockey League, leading the team with 23 goals and 48 points. Rodrigo Abols, selected by Vancouver Canucks in the seventh round (No. 184) of the 2016 NHL Draft, scored the other goal for Latvia.
Finland 8, South Korea 1:The Carolina Hurricanes' combination of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen powered Finland to a Group B victory in its first game. Aho finished with two goals and two assists; Teravainen scored once and had three assists. Kasperi Kapanen (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Markus Nutivaara (Columbus Blue Jackets) also scored goals for Finland.
France 6, Belarus 2:Former Ottawa Senators forward Stephane da Costa had a goal and two assists for France, which rebounded from a tournament-opening loss to Russia in Group A on Friday. Belarus has lost its first two games.
#
Sunday schedule
Group A
AUT vs RUS, 6:15 a.m. ET
SWE vs. CZE, 10:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
SVK vs. SUI, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Group B
KOR vs. CAN, 6:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
GERvs. NOR, 10:15 a.m. ET
LAT vs. FIN, 2:15 p.m. ET
Friday, May 4
United States 5, Canada 4 (SO): Cam Atkinson scored twice in the shootout for the United States, which opened the tournament with a Group B victory, outscoring Canada 2-1 in the tiebreaker.
Atkinson, the Columbus Blue Jackets forward, scored in the first and sixth rounds of the shootout. Jordan Eberle (New York Islanders) scored for Canada in the second round. Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), Canada's captain, could not take part in the shootout because he was in the penalty box at the end of overtime.
Dylan Larkin, (Detroit Red Wings), scored twice and Anders Lee (Islanders) and Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames) each had a goal. New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid made 40 saves and stopped five of six attempts in the shootout, stopping Eberle to end the game.
Pierre-Luc Dubois (Blue Jackets) and Ryan O'Reilly (Buffalo Sabres) scored in the first period to give Canada a 2-0 lead. Anthony Beauvillier (Islanders) and Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues) also scored. Darcy Kuemper (Arizona Coyotes) made 19 saves.
Russia 7, France 0:The Russians dominated their Group A opener, with Minnesota Wild forward prospect Kirill Kaprizov scoring twice.
Pavel Buchnevich (New York Rangers), Evgenii Dadonov (Florida Panthers) and Artem Anisimov (Chicago Blackhawks) scored for Russia..
Sweden 5, Belarus 0:ForwardLias Andersson, one of the Rangers' top prospects, scored the opening goal, and the Swedes cruised to victory in their first game in Group A.
Gustav Nyqvist (Detroit Red Wings), Mattias Janmark (Dallas Stars), Rickard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks) and Mika Zibanejad (Rangers) also scored.
Denmark 3, Germany 2: The hosts had a winning start, winning a shootout against the Germans in their opening game in Group B.
Forward Frans Nielsen (Red Wings) scored the deciding goal in the shootout. He also assisted on the game-opening goal from Jesper Storm. Goaltender Frederik Andersen (Toronto Maple Leafs) did not allow a goal during the shootout.
German forward Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) had a goal and an assist.
Saturday schedule
Group A
SUI vs AUT, 6:15 a.m. ET
FRA vs. BLR, 10:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
CZE vs. SVK, 2:15 p.m. ET
Group B
NOR vs LAT, 6:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
FIN vs. KOR, 10:15 p.m. ET
DEN vs USA, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Thursday, May 3
The tournament starts Friday with a whale of a matchup among the four games.
The United States faces off against Canada in the opener in Group B. It is a game loaded with star power. Canada's 22-man roster will most likely feature NHL players in every spot. The United States could do the same, though Quintin Hughes, a top 10 prospect for the 2018 NHL Draft, could make an appearance as one of the seven defensemen for the Americans.
Here is a look at the schedule for Friday:
Group A
RUS vs. FRA, 10;15 a.m. ET
SWE vs. BLR, 2:15 p.m. ET (NHLN)
Group B
USA vs. CAN, 10:15 a.m. ET (NHLN)
GER vs. DEN, 2:15 p.m. ET
