The 2019 IIHF World Championships kicked off today in Slovakia. A Canadian roster stacked with NHL talent fell to Finland by a score of 3-1 in the first game of the day for Group A. Brandon Montour got caught out of position on Finland’s first goal, while Sam Reinhart was held pointless. Elsewhere, Russia topped Norway 5-2.
Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel recorded one assist in the United States’ 4-1 loss to Slovakia; he was also part of his team’s top power-play unit. Finally, the Czech Republic narrowly defeated Sweden by a score of 5-2.
Finland 3, Canada 1
Game Highlights: Check out @leijonat‘s impressive 3-1 win over @HockeyCanada including two goals from Kaapo Kakko #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/qEEok6vxnp
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 10, 2019
Finland goals: Kaapo Kakko (2019 draft eligible); Arttu Ilomaki; Kaapo Kakko
Canada goal: Jonathan Marchessault
Russia 5, Norway 2
Russia goals: Evgeni Dadonov; Artem Anisimov; Nikita Kucherov; Evgeni Dadonov; Nikita Gusev
Norway goals: Thomas Valkvae Olsen; Jonas Holos
Slovakia 4, United States 1
Patrick Kane to Alex DeBrincat and the #Blackhawks duo make it 1-1. The puck was bouncing when DeBrincat released the shot on the PP. Wowza. #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/4Tn2KPJ8U6
— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisTHN) May 10, 2019
United States goals: Alex DeBrincat
Slovakia goals: Matus Sukel, Erik Cernak, Tomas Tatar, Michal Kristof
you don’t really need a reason to gif our dear sweet boy pic.twitter.com/CTeUFDoYu8
— depressed buffalos (@depressedbflos) May 10, 2019
Czech Republic 5, Sweden 2
Czech Republic goals: Jakub Vrana, Dominik Kubalik, Michael Frolik, Jakub Vrana, Jan Kovar
Sweden goals: Patric Hornqvist, Oskar Lindblom
Sabres Players in Action Today
Sam Reinhart: 0g, 0a, 0 pts, 0 PIM, 0 shots, minus-1, 14:36 ice time
Brandon Montour: 0g, 0a, 0 pts, 0 PIM, 2 shots, minus-2, 23:36 ice time
Jack Eichel: 0g, 1a, 1 pt, 0 PIM, 3 shots, minus-2, 18:49 ice time
Tomorrow’s Games (Saturday, all times ET)
(*Asterisk denotes game is televised on NHL Network US).
6 am: Denmark vs. France*, Switzerland vs. Italy
10 am: Germany vs. Great Britain*, Latvia vs. Austria
2 pm: Slovakia vs. Finland*, Norway vs. Czech Republic