Canada needed a win to have a chance to finish atop Group A. They had to defeat the previously unbeaten Swedes to get it done.
After losing to Finland, Canada was in a must-win game to finish atop its group at the men’s world hockey championship.
Well, Nathan MacKinnon and the rest of Team Canada made sure that happened. The 2023-24 Hart Memorial Trophy winner had a goal and two assists and led his native homeland to a 5-3 victory over co-host Sweden on Tuesday.
Macklin Celebrini, Tyson Foerster, Ryan O’Reilly, and Travis Sanheim also found the net as Canada rebounded from a 2-1 shootout loss against Finland on Monday with a legendary performance over the previously undefeated Swedes. Travis Konecny also had a tremendous night with a three-assist performance, while captain Sidney Crosby and Jared Spurgeon had two assists. Rasmus Andersson, Marcus Johansson, and Elias Lindholm scored for Sweden.
Jordan Binnington made 25 saves for Canada, while Jacob Markstrom stoned 19 shots for Sweden.
For the first goal, MacKinnon sent the puck into the slot, and it became a mad scramble to see who could jump on the garbage first. Despite three Swedes hovering over him, Sanheim punched it in to give Canada a 1-0 lead.
It was the first goal the Swedes had allowed in four games, but they responded with an equalizer while shorthanded, when Lindholm stole the puck away at his own blue-line and took it the other way to beat Binnington and tie the game.
Foerster put Canada back in front with a goal after a fierce battle with a defender in front of the net. O’Reilly made it a two-goal lead when Konecny set him for the score. The sequence started after MacKinnon won the draw and slid the puck back to Konecny and it was on from there.
The Swedes got one back to begin the second period to put them within a goal after they took advantage on the 5-on-3 power play. Filip Forsberg corralled the puck by the left side of the net and found an unprotected Johansson to make it 3-2.
Canada continued to take silly penalties, but this time, their rivals were unable to capitalize on the situation. Crosby took advantage and found Celebrini down the ice and fed him a perfect pass. The San Jose Sharks phenom subsequently sprinted down the ice and beat Markstrom with a scintillating backhand.
At the end of two, Canada held a 4-2 lead.
Four minutes into the third period, Konecny dished a backhand pass while falling down to the ice to MacKinnon, who blasted it home to make it 5-2.
To their credit, the Swedes never gave up, and they were rewarded for it, as Andersson scored after his shot hit the post before ricocheting off a defender and into the net.
Game. Set. Match. Canada gets back to its winning ways with a 5-3 victory.
Canada will square off against co-host Denmark in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Czechs Get Checked
The United States handed the Czech Republic their first loss of the World Championship with a 5-2 win Tuesday to finish second in Group B. The U.S., which has not won a world championship in 92 years, will face Finland in the quarterfinals Thursday.
The game was a penalty fest early on as both teams had a combined seven power plays in the opening period, but nobody managed to capitalize. However, Josh Doan did manage to score at even strength to give the Americans the lead.
Josh Doan put the U.S. ahead midway through an opening period in which the Americans had three power plays and the Czechs four, but neither side took advantage. David Pastrnak and Martin Nečas scored for the Czechs in the second period, but the U.S. responded with four unanswered goals, including two scores from Frank Nazar and goals from Logan Cooley and Andrew Peeke.