Canada set to face Finland as quarter-finals begin at IIHF Worlds on TSN
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The 2023 IIHF World Championship begins its elimination rounds on Thursday as Canada does battle with co-host Finland in the quarter-finals.
Canada finished second in Group B with a 4-1-1-1 record after defeating Czechia 3-1 on Tuesday in their final round-robin matchup.
Finland finished in third place in Group A with a 5-0-1-1 record, including a 7-1 victory over Denmark to wrap up their round robin on Tuesday.
Team Canada has been led offensively by Calgary Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar, who is tied for seventh in tournament scoring with three goals and nine points in seven games.
Lawson Crouse of the Arizona Coyotes leads the forwards offensively with four goals, while Jack McBain, Tyler Toffoli, and Sammy Blais also each have four points.
Canada will be without forward Joe Veleno, who is serving a five-game suspension for kicking Switzerland forward Nino Niederreiter on Saturday. His tournament ends with two goals and five points in five games.
Head coach Andre Tourigny has yet to name a starting goalie against Finland, but has three options with Devon Levi of the Buffalo Sabres, Joel Hofer of the St. Louis Blues, and Samuel Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens.
Montembeault has the inside track with a 2-1-0-1 record with a .944 save percentage and 1.23 goals-against average, including a 6-0 shutout against Latvia to open the tournament.
Leading the way for Finland offensively is Colorado Avalanche superstar Mikko Rantanen with eight assists in seven games, while Sakari Manninen of the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights has three goals and seven points in seven games.
Emil Larmi of the Swedish Hockey League is likely to get the nod between the pipes for Finland, with a 3-0-1-1 record, .922 save percentage and a 1.78 goals-against average.
In the other quarter-final matchups, the United States takes on Czechia and Switzerland faces Germany at 9:20 a.m. ET/6:20 a.m. PT, while Sweden takes on Latvia at 1:20 p.m. ET/10:20 a.m. PT.
All four quarter-final games can be viewed on TSN, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.