MacKinnon scores game-winner, Team Canada destroys Team Latvia in 7-1 rout

Team Canada trailed, but they didn’t trail for very long.

Team Canada trailed 1-0 for just seven minutes into the opening period after Latvian Eduards Tralmaks found the net, but it was their only blemish of the game.

A day after their shutout win in the first game of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Canada responded with seven unanswered goals over Team Latvia, including two goals in two-and-a-half minutes of play to turn the tide in their favor.

Kent Johnson scored twice for Team Canada. Nathan MacKinnon, Travis Konecny, Macklin Celebrini, Barrett Hayton, and Mike Matheson, also scored in the 7-1 rout for the Canadians.

Canada Dominates

Travis Konecny tied the game off an assist from Travis Sanheim and Sidney Crosby with 9:30 left in the first period. Nathan MacKinnon subsequently scored off a feed from Bo Horvat for the game-winning goal that gave Canada a 2-1 lead.

From that point forward, it was one-way traffic. At 10:47 Crosby and Martins Dzierkals were both charged with roughing after exchanging pleasantries near the benches. Horvat was boxed for slashing, but Latvia’s power play couldn’t get anything going.

In the second period, Canada officially put the game into blowout territory when Johnson scored twice, a sweet backhand that was setup by Brandon Montour and Crosby. The second goal was all Johnson, who scored unassisted when he sizzled one by Latvian netminder Gustavs Dāvis Grigals to make it a 4-1 game.

Konecny made it a 5-1 game when he scored while his team was a down a man. It didn’t matter whether it was full strength or on the penalty kill, Canada was just miles ahead of their competition. And Fleury, who is set to retire from competition at the conclusion of the World Championships, was having a ball, grinning from ear to ear while making butterfly saves.

Canada continued to dictate the pace early in the final frame when 18-year-old Macklin Celebrini found the net off a setup from Konecny and Crosby to extend the pain to 6-1. Celebrini, who was drafted first overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2024, made an excellent case to win the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s best rookie, this year. He put up 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games in the regular season.

He’ll be one to watch without a doubt. This was Celebrini’s first goal of the tournament.

With the writing on the wall, Latvia resorted to committing penalties, and Canada just continued to outclass them at will. Hayton added the final tally for Canada with less than five minutes remaining in the game. His initial shot rang off the post, but upon further review, the puck was ruled to have crossed the line. Phillip Danault picked up an assist on the play.

At 55:18, Barrett Hayton added Canada’s seventh goal of the game with a sharp-angle shot that initially rang off the post. The play went to video review, but the puck was confirmed to have crossed the line. Phillip Danault picked up the lone assist on the play.

Fleury, who is making his World Championships debut, made 16 saves on 17 shots, while Grigals saved 30 of 37 shots.

At the end of the game, Fleury and Tralmaks were awarded with Tissot watches for being chosen as “Players of the Game” for their respective clubs. Instead of a participation trophy, Tralmaks received a participation watch. Not a bad way to celebrate a defeat.

Next Game

Both teams get a day off before returning to action Tuesday. At 12:20 p.m. MT Canada takes on France, which is coming off a loss over Latvia. And Latvia will face Canada’s first tournament victim, Slovenia.

Czeching in on the Czechs

The Czechs were in action as well with Avalanche forward Martin Nečas suiting up for his first game of the tournament. He played just under 18 minutes with two shots on goal as Czechia narrowly edged Norway 2-1. They will next face Denmark today at 12:20 p.m. MT.