On Tap: Day 6 of 2025 World Junior Championship

Tuesday is the sixth day of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is being held in Ottawa.

On Tap for Day 6

All games on NHL Network in U.S., TSN in Canada

Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan (Noon ET) -- A spot in the quarterfinals goes to the winner of this game.

After a 5-1 loss to Czechia in its tournament opener, Switzerland (0-0-0-3, zero points) has played two close games, losing 2-1 to Slovakia on a goal with 3:15 remaining in the third period, and then scored four power-play goals in the third period to put a scare into Sweden before losing 7-5. Those four goals, however, were more than the three they scored in their first eight periods at the WJC.

"Goalscoring is our biggest problem now," Switzerland captain Alain Graf said. "The last period we showed that we can score goals. We have one game left, and we have to go all in, shoot, and get more goals."

Kazakhstan (0-0-1-2, one point) had its own close loss, scoring two short-handed goals in the final 3:23 of the third period to force overtime before losing 4-3 to Slovakia on Monday. It was quite the rebound from a 14-2 loss to Czechia on Saturday.

"We're trying to forget those [first] two games we played [also 8-1 loss to Sweden on Friday] because it was just horrible," Kazakhstan captain Aslan Zhusupbekov (2025 draft eligible) said. "We just try to improve. First it's tell ourselves we can play and win against basically every team. We're going to try to do that again tomorrow."

Latvia vs. Finland (2:30 p.m. ET) -- The winner of this one will finish in third place in Group A.

A 3-2 shootout win against for Latvia (0-2-0-1, four points) against Canada on Friday arguably was the biggest upset in World Junior history, and they made more history with a 4-3 overtime win against Germany on Monday, making it the first time they've won twice in the preliminary round at the World Juniors. Forward Eriks Mateiko (Washington Capitals) has been their best offensive player, scoring the shootout winner against Canada and in overtime against Germany.

Finland (1-1-0-1, five points) is coming off its best game, a 4-3 overtime win against the United States. Their aggressive forecheck kept continuous pressure on the U.S., and they'll need to repeat that effort against a Latvia team that is riding the momentum of their best WJC run. Finland will need a bit more offense after scoring seven goals in its first three games, but goalie Petteri Rimpinen (2025 draft eligible) has been strong, with a .933 save percentage in starting all three games.

Czechia vs. Sweden (5 p.m. ET) -- First place in Group B goes to the winner of this one.

Czechia (3-0-0-0, nine points) has scored a tournament-high 23 goals, but 14 of them came against Kazakhstan on Saturday. It's been a balanced attack, with Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues) and Vojtech Hradec (Utah Hockey Club) leading them with seven points (four goals, three assists) each. Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken), Czechia's captain, has been their best playmaker, including two goals in the 4-2 win against Slovakia on Sunday.

Sweden (3-0-0-0, nine points) needs to improve its penalty kill after allowing four power-play goals in the third period against Switzerland on Sunday. The flip side is they have the tournament's best power play at 46.1 percent (6-for-13). They also are getting solid offensive contributions from their defensemen, led by Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings) with seven points (four goals, three assists) and Tom Willander (Vancouver Canucks) with five points (two goals, three assists). Forward Otto Stenberg (St. Louis Blues), who has four points (one goal, three assists) in three games, is questionable after leaving practice early Monday following a collision with a teammate.

United States vs. Canada (8 p.m. ET) -- Group A is on the line between the tournament's biggest rivals.

"I think that's kind of the game that's been circled in everyone's calendar, U.S. vs. Canada," Canada (2-0-1-0, seven points) forward Berkly Catton (Seattle Kraken) said Sunday. "It's the biggest one, and that's when you see who the real players are and who shows up for that one."

The U.S. (2-0-1-0, seven points) will need more people to show up after what it felt was a lackluster effort in a 4-3 overtime loss to Finland on Sunday. That includes more from a power play that is 2-for-11 in three games, including 0-for-4 with one short-handed goal allowed Sunday.

"I think we were a little almost not ready to play," forward Brodie Ziemer (Buffalo Sabres) said. "Obviously some bad penalties kind of cost us. We learn from it and we'll be better."

Canada was better in its 3-0 win against Germany on Sunday, two days after its stunning 3-2 shootout loss to Latvia. They have just one 5-on-5 goal in the past two games, but the players are confident they're close to a breakthrough.

"We're generating lots now, it's just on us to put it home," Catton said. "I think it's going to come and once we get maybe one or two, it's just going to start opening and flooding."

The rivalry should provide ample motivation for both teams.

"They hate us out there, and I love it," U.S. defenseman Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) said. "It's going to be fun, probably a sold-out building ... it's going to be a fun game, and definitely going to be an intense one too."