Canada to face hosts Denmark, USA in tough vs. Finland as quarter-finals loom at Worlds
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The quarter-finals at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship will take place Thursday, with both co-hosts of the tournament having a chance to advance on home soil.
Denmark has reached the knockout stage for the first time since 2016 thanks to a 2-1 shootout win over Germany on Tuesday. The Danes won three straight games to setup a winner-take-all against the Germans and received a boost as Winnipeg Jets star Nikolaj Ehlers joined the team and scored the team's lone goal in regulation to tie the game in the third period.
“It's special,” Ehlers said after the victory. “It’s obviously what we were hoping for. I think the guys put this team in a great spot. And, you know, we played against a Germany that played really well. They had chances, we had chances. But I think overall, we stuck to our plan, and we didn’t give up and were able to get that one goal. And from, I think, the third period on, we were the better team. So that's exciting.”
Denmark faces a tough test on home soil Thursday, when Sidney Crosby and a star-studded Team Canada await them.
Canada went 6-0-1 in the preliminary round, falling in a shootout to Finland on Monday in their lone loss at the tournament thus far. A 5-3 victory over co-host Sweden on Tuesday secured Canada's place atop Group A, with the team outscored opponents 34-7 in round-robin play.
Team Canada exits the group round with three of the tournaments top seven scorers. Nathan MacKinnon leads the team with seven goals and 13 points, sitting one point behind Czechia star David Pastrnak for the tournament lead. Travis Konecny is fourth in tournament scoring with three goals and 12 points, while Crosby is among the three players tied for fifth with four goals and 11 points. All three players are representing Canada for the second time this year and looking for more hardware after winning the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
As a result of Monday's loss to Canada, Sweden finished as the runner-up in Group A and will face Group B's third-place finisher, Czechia, in the quarter-finals. Led by Pastrnak, the Czechs also suffered just one loss in round-robin play and led the tournament with 35 goals scored.
Sweden will receive an extra boost to their lineup Thursday after Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander joined the team on Wednesday and is set to play in the knockout round. The 29-year-old winger, who last played at the worlds in 2022, had six goals and 15 points in 13 playoff games this spring after posting 45 goals and 84 points in 82 games during the regular season.
USA, Finland set for heavyweight tilt
While Finland was the lone team to defeat Canada in round-robin, the team finished third in Group B and will face Team USA in their quarter-final on Thursday.
The Americans went 6-1-0 in the preliminary round, claiming second in Group B despite dropping a surprising point with an overtime win over Norway after leading the game 5-1.
"I think we had some games where we let some leads get away, and there's some games we want back," forward Logan Cooley said after a convincing 5-2 win over Czechia on Tuesday. "But obviously, playing a team like Czechia, it's an unbelievable team. They play the right way and have a lot of skilled players. Obviously to beat them like that, it gives us a lot of confidence going into the next game too."
Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar leads the Team USA with six goals and 11 points through seven games at the tournament.
Boston Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman appears likely to start Thursday's game, but has struggled to find his form at the tournament. Swayman allowed eight goals on 75 shots over his four starts for a .893 save percentage and a 1.97 GAA. Joey Daccord made three starts in the preliminary round, posting a .919 save percentage and a 2.00 GAA.
Finland will continue to lean on Nashville Predators star Juuse Saros, who has a .959 save percentage and a 1.19 GAA through five games at the worlds.
Both Finland and Team USA suffered just one loss in the group round, with the United States outscoring opponents 34-14 and Finland owning a 22-10 advantage.
It's been more than 50 years since the Americans reach the gold-medal game at the worlds, while Finland has claimed two championships in the past five tournaments.
Group B winner Switzerland, who shut out Team USA 3-0 in the group round, will face Austria in Thursday's quarter-finals.
Switzerland's lone loss of tournament came on opening day with a 5-4 overtime loss to Czechia. In the six games since, the Swiss have outscored opponents 32-4, posting three shutouts along the way.
Jets forward Nino Niederreiter joined Team Switzerland for Tuesday's 4-1 win over Kazakhstan, posting an assist as he looks to help the team reach the podium once again after claiming silver last year.
Austria picked up shootout wins over Slovakia and Slovenia in the group round and also defeated France and Latvia in regulation to advance for the first time since 1994.