Canada faced more adversity than expected from Kazakhstan but remained undefeated at the World Hockey Championship by winning 6-3 on Thursday in Helsinki, Finland.
After four games, the maple leaf is still at the top of Group A with 12 points and a differential of 14. Switzerland is the only other country to score as many points as Canada, but remains the latter’s runner-up with two goals. less.
The Kazakhs took a 1-0 lead early in the first half and even got back into the driver’s seat later in the period when Arkadi Shestakov beat Logan Thompson to make it 2-1. It was the first time in its history that the Asian country held a lead over Canada in a World Cup.
Dylan Cozens was the spark plug for the Maple Leaf representatives by completing a hat trick late in the third period. He was also the one who had scored the insurance goal eight minutes earlier.
The Canadiens lost defenseman Ryan Graves midway through the third period. The New Jersey Devils player blocked a shot and collapsed on the ice in pain. The game was not stopped, however, which allowed the Kazakhs to score their third goal. Graves took several minutes before returning to the bench and he did not return to the game afterwards.
Drake Batherson, Adam Lowry and Damon Severson were the other scorers for Canada. Thompson finished the game with 16 saves on 19 shots. The next duel of the troops of Claude Julien will be the most important of this preliminary round since they will face the Swiss on Saturday.
Sean Farrell sets himself apart
At Nokia Arena, the United States blanked Great Britain 3-0 thanks to two points from Montreal Canadiens prospect Sean Farrell.
The 20-year-old left winger was an accomplice to both nets in the third period of Kieffer Bellows. Ben Meyers also scored for the Americans.
In goal, the United States benefited from the arrival of goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who was eliminated from the playoffs with the Boston Bruins. He made 17 saves for the shutout.
It’s not going very well for the Brits, who haven’t scored in their last two games. They find themselves in the cellar of group B with only one point after four meetings.
In other games, the Czech Republic took the measure of Latvia by beating them 5-1, thanks to two points from David Pastrnak and David Krejci, former teammates with the Bruins reunited on the international scene. Germany, meanwhile, defeated Denmark 1-0. Marc Michaelis was the only scorer of the game, while Philipp Grubauer had an 18 shutout.
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