It was an unexpected start for Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2021 IIHF World Championship and not the good kind. Losses to Latvia, the United States and Germany put the Canadians in an unfamiliar position – an 0-3 record and a steep hill to climb back into playoff contention, let alone to think about a 27th world title.

In over 60 years of world championship participation, Canada had never started without a win in three games. In fact, it had never started with even two losses. But there had also never been a tournament like the one played in 2021, with COVID-19 restrictions and mandatory quarantine periods, so really it was an unprecedented event all round.

Which is, perhaps, what made it so easy for the Canadians to keep faith that this was an obstacle that could be overcome.

“Being down and battling and [Andrew Mangiapane] coming over and turning things around … we just always believed” says Adam Henrique, the Canadian captain.

From the outside, everything seemed to change with the arrival of Mangiapane. The Calgary Flames forward flew over to Latvia following a disappointing first-round playoff loss and had to isolate for two weeks before joining the team. That meant he watched the first three games, the losses, from his hotel room. By the time he got to the dressing room, the team was down.

But definitely not out.

“Obviously his play coming over was a big addition to the team, but even his impact off the ice, he was a huge morale boost for the group,” Henrique explains. “He’s great in the locker room, he’s a funny guy, always had a smile on his face, a high-energy type of person and I think that really bled through the locker room with all the guys there.

“And his play on the ice was amazing. He became the MVP of the tournament, and we had some chemistry right away … so he is a huge reason we ended up being able to pull through.”

There was no specific moment or game Henrique could remember that things seemed to change, it was more a gradual coming together of the team, with lots of time spent playing cards together with visits outside of the hotel restricted because of the pandemic. But whatever it was, the wins started to come.

Victories over Norway, Kazakhstan and Italy got Canada back to even. But then came the defending champions, and Finland did not seem to want Canada back in the fold. A win and the red and white would be into the quarterfinals; any other result meant the Canadians would need some help.

“We had to play Finland in that last prelim game … we had a chip on our shoulder from losing [the gold in 2019] so we were trying to draw on that,” Henrique says. “To send it overtime and get the point, we still needed the help after that but … I think that’s when we knew we could do this thing.”

Despite taking a 3-2 loss in a shootout, the point still helped. Canada then ran to its room to watch the results of the Germany-Latvia game. If either team won in regulation, Canada would get into the quarters. But if the game was forced to overtime, both Germany and Latvia would advance, and Canada would be eliminated.

Germany scored twice in the first period, Latvia countered in the second but, despite many panicked moments for Canada and its fans, that was the end of the scoring. Canada was through.

“We were definitely keeping track of the standings and knew that our time could be limited so we just had to win our games and cross our fingers that everything else would fall into place which it did,” says Canadian forward Nick Paul. “We just came together as a group and weren’t going to take no for an answer.

At that point, it felt like the team was destined for something great. Canada took down the Russians 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinal – on a Mangiapane goal set up by a terrific play by Troy Stecher – and the Americans 4-2 in the semis. Leaving just those pesky Finns with gold on the line.

The tight first period saw just a Finland goal from Mikael Ruohomaa, but Max Comtois got Canada on the board in the second. Petteri Lindbohm put Finland ahead early in the third before the captain countered for Canada at about the 12-minute mark, sending the game to overtime.

The Cinderella team was approaching midnight, with Paul in the defensive zone taking a faceoff.

“I kind of lost the faceoff,” Paul recalls. “But I read [the Finnish centre] was going to the defence so I put my stick down and [the puck] hit it, so springing a two-on-one with Connor Brown, and I know when you give Brownie the puck he makes good things happen.

“I slid it over to him early and it got mixed up in his skates, but he still made a beautiful pass back and I could have closed my eyes to put that one away. It was right on the tape and there was no goalie in sight.”

Henrique’s memory of the golden goal is a little more succinct.

“Thank god,” he laughs. “It was a defensive zone faceoff and Pauly goes ahead, and you just never see that!

“But it led to the two-on-one … and I can’t even explain the feeling on the bench was relief and we just couldn’t believe it. We had actually won after everything that had happened in the tournament … it will be a moment I will never forget in my hockey career.”

It may not have been the start expected of a hockey nation as renowned as Canada, but the ending certainly exceeded expectations and will likely be a story told a little more often than others.

The greatest Canadian comeback in IIHF World Championship history.

TAMPERE, Finland – Canada’s National Men’s Team is bringing home the silver medal from the 2022 IIHF World Championship after falling 4-3 to Finland in an overtime thriller in the gold medal game Sunday.

After a scoreless first period, Dylan Cozens (Whitehorse, Y.T./Buffalo, NHL) broke the deadlock on a second-period power play, firing a one-timer past Finnish goaltender Jussi Olkinuora – the first goal allowed by Finland’s penalty kill in the tournament. That lead stood until the early minutes of the third period, when Mikael Granlund scored back-to-back power-play goals to get the Finns even and then put the hosts ahead, and Joel Armia increased the lead to 3-1 with 5:56 left.

With less than three minutes remaining and the Canadian net empty, Zach Whitecloud (Brandon, Man./Vegas, NHL) brought Canada within one, and Max Comtois (Longueuil, Que./Anaheim, NHL) scored the equalizer with 1:24 left to the send the game to overtime. Mathew Barzal (Coquitlam, B.C./New York Islanders, NHL) was instrumental in mounting the comeback, registering the primary assist on all three Canadian goals.

Sakari Manninen ended the game 6:42 into overtime, leaving Canada with its 16th silver medal and 51st medal overall at the world championship.

“The fact that we were able to come back in two big games shows how much character this team has. We never gave up, we believed in ourselves, and obviously it is difficult to come up short like we did,” said captain Thomas Chabot (Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Que./Ottawa, NHL). “We have to give Finland a lot of credit, because they are a great team. They play well together and that is a big reason why they were playing against us today.”

Chris Driedger (Winnipeg, Man/Seattle, NHL) was stellar in the Canadian goal, stopping 16 shots before being forced to leave the game early in the third period due to injury. Matt Tomkins (Sherwood Park, Alta./Frölunda HC, SHL) made his IIHF World Championship debut in relief of Driedger, making 11 saves.

A full game summary can be found at HockeyCanada.ca.

Following the gold medal game, Pierre-Luc Dubois (Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que./Winnipeg, NHL) was named to the media all-star team.

“To lose in overtime when you are short-handed is frustrating. You work so hard all tournament, and to come that close to winning is a difficult thing to fathom,” said Dubois. “I like to win, and that is why I wanted to represent Canada. It is an honour to represent your country, and this team was unbelievable. We gave it everything we had, we went through the ups and downs, but we stuck with it and we were so close to taking home gold.”

“We had great character on this hockey club. Two big games [against Sweden and Finland] where we were down by two goals, and we were able to tie the games in the final two minutes,” said head coach Claude Julien (Orleans, Ont.). “That shows the type of team we had. I am proud of our guys that came over here to represent Canada, and I am so proud of how hard they played all tournament.”

Canada finished the preliminary round in third place in Group A after wins over Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Kazakhstan and France. It booked a spot in the gold medal game with a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win against Sweden in the quarterfinals and a convincing 6-1 win over Czechia in the semifinals.

Since 1931, Canada has collected 28 gold medals at the world championship, to go along with 16 silver and seven bronze.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE GAME BLOG

TAMPERE, Finland – A three-goal second period helped Canada’s National Men’s Team punch its ticket to the gold medal game at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in convincing fashion, downing Czechia 6-1 on Saturday.

• Dylan Cozens (Whitehorse, Y.T./Buffalo, NHL) led the offence with a pair of goals and an assist.
• Kent Johnson (Port Moody, B.C./Columbus, NHL) contributed one goal and an assist.
• Adam Lowry (Calgary, Alta./Winnipeg, NHL), Mathew Barzal (Coquitlam, B.C./New York Islanders, NHL) and Cole Sillinger (Regina, Sask./Columbus, NHL) rounded out the scoring.
• Drake Batherson (New Minas, N.S./Ottawa, NHL) chipped in with two assists.
• Cozens, Pierre-Luc Dubois (Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que./Winnipeg, NHL) and Ryan Graves (Yarmouth, N.S./New Jersey, NHL) were named Team Canada’s three best players of the tournament.
• Chris Driedger (Winnipeg, Man./Seattle, NHL) made 25 saves and was named Player of the Game.
• Canada outshot Czechia 35-26.

Next Game:

Canada vs. Finland (gold medal game) – Sunday, May 29 (1:20 p.m. ET/10:20 a.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast the bronze and gold medal games; please check local listings for details.

Quotes:

“The Czechs have been good on the penalty kill all tournament, and we were able to capitalize on a few power plays tonight. We are going to take some time and study Finland’s penalty kill, and hopefully come up with a solution for it like we were able to do against the Czechs. We know Finland is strong on special teams, and because of that we are expecting a tough game tomorrow night.”

- Head coach Claude Julien (Orleans, Ont.) on the Czechia and Finland penalty kills

“We have been building on every game and have been focused on getting better every day, and that is a big key to success in a tournament like this. Our coaches have been great in helping us do that, and now we need to be better again tomorrow. We are going to enjoy the win but shift our focus to the gold medal game tomorrow. We know the building is going to be rocking, and the Finns are playing for gold at home, but we need to try to have a strong start and not let [Finland] build momentum from their fans.”

- Cozens on continuing to improve and playing Finland in the gold medal game

“I am fortunate that this is my third [IIHF World Championship], and I know these tournaments come with a number of challenges and a lot of ups and downs. We want our game to peak at the right time, and in that game against Sweden, there were some minutes that we did not play well but we were able to come back when it mattered most. We learned from some of our mistakes and we were able to play a strong game tonight. Tomorrow in front of the [Finnish fans], there is going to be some adversity and we are going to need to battle through it. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves and we know what we are capable of.”

- Dubois on the challenges of the tournament

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

Canada’s National Men’s Team is in the gold medal game at the IIHF World Championship for the third-straight tournament and sixth out of the last seven, but will need to go through host Finland to capture back-to-back world titles.

LAST GAME

Canada trailed Czechia 1-0 early, but after a late goal from Dylan Cozens in that same frame and three in the second period (from Adam Lowry, Kent Johnson and Matt Barzal), Canada never looked back as it finished a a convincing 6-1 semifinal win. Canada spent nearly eight minutes in the first period on the penalty kill, giving up that lone Czech goal near the tail-end of a double minor. Canada didn’t take another minor penalty but did capitalize on its own man-advantage opportunities twice in the second period. Cole Sillinger and Cozens added goals in the third period to round out the scoring and Chris Driedger made 25 saves for the win.

Finland took on the United States in its semifinal, picking up a thrilling 4-3 win to earn its third-straight trip to the worlds final. The Finns fell behind early in the first period before Miro Heiskanen tied it. Finland took the lead in the second, but the U.S. answered back two-and-a-half minutes later. The hosts jumped ahead again at the midway mark of the second period on a goal by Sami Vatanen, and Joel Armia recorded the game-winner in the third.

LAST MEETING

As inferred above, the last time Canada and Finland met at the worlds was the 2021 gold medal game and few Canadians can forget how that one ended – with a 3-2 overtime win that capped off a Cinderella-like run for Canada. Trailing 2-1 with less than eight minutes to go, Canadian captain Adam Henrique scored the equalizer on a power play to force the extra frame, where Connor Brown and Nick Paul worked a two-on-one to perfection to capture Canada’s 27th gold medal.

WHAT TO WATCH

Canada’s top line is nearly unstoppable right now, with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cozens at 13 points each and Drake Batherson sitting on 12. But there is also plenty of depth in Canada’s forward contingent, so stopping one line will not be enough for the Finns.

Finland, on the other hand, boasts the tournament’s top goaltending, with a team save percentage of .949. The penalty kill has been perfect, as in zero goals against and only 16 penalties taken in nine games. The only chink in the man-advantage armour was a goal scored six-on-five when the U.S. pulled its goaltender looking for an equalizer in the semifinal.

A LOOK BACK

It is hard to imagine a more charged battle than Finland and Canada for the world title, as these teams have met in the previous two finals, each bringing home a gold medal.

Historically, Canada has the edge in overall meetings, but is 1-4 in the last five games (that lone win being the gold medal last year). However, the last time Canada did go back-to-back at worlds, in 2016, it was a 2-0 shutout win over Finland to claim the title. Connor McDavid scored in the first, Matt Duchene added the insurance marker in the third and Cam Talbot made 16 saves for the shutout.

All-time record: Canada leads 37-13-2 (W-L-T)
Canada goals: 273
Finland goals: 117

TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

Canada’s National Men’s Team comes off a comeback for the ages in the quarterfinals and is ready for the next stage of the medal round at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, taking on Czechia in the semifinals.

LAST GAME

Down 3-0 heading into the third period, Canada stormed back for an unbelievable 4-3 overtime win over Sweden to advance to the semifinals. Ryan Graves got Canada on the board just over a minute into the third period with a blast from the point, and it remained a two-goal game until the final two minutes. Pierre-Luc Dubois got the Canadians within one and Mathew Barzal, on his birthday, scored 30 seconds later to tie the game. Another power play in overtime led to a Barzal-to-Drake-Batherson winner, finishing the unbelievable comeback.

Czechia’s quarterfinal was much more straight forward, as it jumped out to an early lead on Germany and never looked back, finishing with a 4-1 win. David Pastrnak scored on the power play just over two minutes into the game and Roman Cernvenka added another man-advantage marker midway through the first period. David Krejci scored a power-play goal for Czechia in the second, and Jiri Smejkal sealed the win with an empty-netter.

LAST MEETING

The last time these teams met at worlds was also in the semis, with Canada coming out on top 5-1 in 2019. Matt Murray was the star in that game, making 40 saves, while Mark Stone had a goal and an assist. Two other familiar names (i.e. currently playing for Team Canada) also scored in that game: Pierre-Luc Dubois and Thomas Chabot.

WHAT TO WATCH

Canada scored three of its four goals against Sweden with a man advantage (two power-play goals and one with the goaltender on the bench). As the tournament gets closer to the end, being able to score at even strength will be essential. But Canada showed incredible resiliency against a higher-seeded team, outshooting Sweden 19-1 in the second period, despite no goals to show for it, and will be a force to reckon with in the semifinals with momentum on its side.

And as noted above, Czechia also scored three of its four goals while up a man, so special teams will play a special importance in the semifinals. As will shutting down the Davids (Krejci and Pastrnak) – the duo have combined for 17 points. Cernvenka, meanwhile, has 14 points of his own, so there are a few key players to focus on for Canadian defenders.

A LOOK BACK

It’s a deadheat between Canada and Czechia dating back to their first meeting in 1993, with both teams claiming 12 wins and 72 goals each. Canada has had the edge lately, putting up six straight wins.

The closest of that latest stretch was a 2-1 Canadian victory in 2013 . Wayne Simmonds scored in the first period, answered by Petr Koukal six minutes later. Jeff Skinner made an end-to-end rush in the third for the game-winner, with Mike Smith picking up an assist on the play and making 30 saves in the win.

All-time record: Tied 12-12-0 (W-L-T)
Canada goals: 72
Czechia goals: 72

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE GAME BLOG 

TAMPERE, Finland – Canada’s National Men’s Team advanced to the semifinals at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in thrilling fashion, downing Sweden 4-3 in overtime after overcoming a two-goal deficit in the final two minutes of the game.

• Ryan Graves (Yarmouth, N.S./New Jersey, NHL) kick-started the offence for Canada with a goal just 1:21 into the third period.
• Pierre-Luc Dubois (Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que./Winnipeg, NHL) and Mathew Barzal (Coquitlam, B.C./New York Islanders, NHL) scored 30 seconds apart to tie the game.
• Drake Batherson (New Minas, N.S./Ottawa, NHL) fired home the game-winner on the power play just 43 seconds into the extra frame.
• Max Comtois (Longueuil, Que./Anaheim, NHL) chipped in with two assists.
• Nicolas Roy (Amos, Que./Vegas, NHL), Thomas Chabot (Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Que./Ottawa, NHL), Dylan Cozens (Whitehorse, Y.T./Buffalo, NHL), Batherson, Barzal and Dubois had one assist apiece.
• Chris Driedger (Winnipeg, Man./Seattle, NHL) made 16 saves.
• Canada outshot Sweden 42-19.

Next Game:

Canada vs. TBD (semfinal) – Saturday, May 28 (time TBD)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast both semifinals, and the bronze and gold medal games; please check local listings for details.

Quotes:

“[Sweden’s] goaltender was outstanding, and he deserves a lot of credit for his performance. We tried not to get frustrated [with our lack of scoring in the first two periods] and instead we were determined in the third period to get pucks into the net. The first goal gave us some life, and we just tried to give ourselves opportunities to score. We felt really good about our game from the second period on, and the goal from Graves got our confidence up. I told our team not to get frustrated going into the third period, and just find a way to get that first goal, and it worked out for us.”

- Head coach Claude Julien (Orleans, Ont.) on finding scoring chances

“Obviously being down 3-0 going into the third period was not what we planned, but we were able to get that goal early in the third. I was frustrated that I took a penalty, and to be honest I thought we were going to have a hard time coming back, but we never gave up. That was the message after the second period, do not give up and stick to our game, and we were able to get a few bounces and complete the comeback.”

- Batherson on coming back from being down 3-0

“This win gives us a lot of energy and confidence moving forward. At the end of the day, we were not happy with a few of our games in the preliminary round. Coming in here, Sweden was a higher seed than us and we knew it was going to be a difficult game, and us being able to come back in the third period shows how much character our team has and how badly we want to win. We are going to keep taking it one game at a time, but these are the types of game that you live for and it brings our group that much closer together.”

- Chabot on the come-from-behind win

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

The playoff round gets underway at the 2022 IIHF World Championship on Thursday, with Canada’s National Men’s Team, the third-place team in Group A, facing off against Group B runner-up Sweden in the quarterfinals.

LAST GAME

Coming off back-to-back losses, Canada was looking to spark its offence again in its last preliminary round game against France on Tuesday, and a 7-1 win did just that. It was a bit of a slow start for both teams, with no scoring until after the midway mark of the first period, when Travis Sanheim opened things up for Canada. Max Comtois added the eventual game-winner before the end of the opening frame. Pierre-Luc Dubois added two goals and an assist in the final 40 minutes and Chris Driedger made 18 saves to secure the win.

Sweden also wrapped up preliminary round play on Tuesday, in a tight 1-0 victory over Latvia. William Nylander had the lone goal for the Swedes, who finished just behind the Finns in Group B. Linus Ullmark made 21 saves for the shutout.

LAST MEETING

These two powerhouse nations haven’t met at worlds since 2017, when Canada suffered a tightly contested 2-1 shootout loss in the gold medal game. Victor Hedman opened the scoring for Sweden with a shorthanded goal in the last minute of the second period before Ryan O’Reilly answered for Canada on the power play early in the third. Calvin Pickard made 40 saves and Henrik Lundqvist had 42 of his own to get the game to a shootout, where Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson counted the lone goals for Sweden.

WHAT TO WATCH

Eric O’Dell was the final Canadian to earn a point Tuesday in his second appearance. And now that the offence is rolling again, the biggest question for Canada remains in net with goaltender Logan Thompson listed day-to-day. He hasn’t dressed for the last two games after starting four of Canada’s previous five.

Sweden has been adding players throughout the event, though none more impactful than Nylander. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward has two goals in two games and adds more depth to its roster, which features 12 NHLers. That includes goaltender Magnus Hellberg (Detroit Red Wings) who has started four games and has a .931 save percentage.

A LOOK BACK

In the most historically-even match-up so far at worlds, Canada still holds the edge over Sweden in wins and goal differential in 67 previous meetings.

Prior to the 2017 loss, Canada had picked up five-straight wins, including a 6-0 quarterfinal victory the previous year en route to a gold medal. Mark Scheifele had the lone goal in the first period, while Matt Dumba, Brad Marchand and Max Domi added one each in the second. Mark Stone and Derick Brassard rounded out the rout.

All-time record: Canada leads 35-27-5 (W-L-T)
Canada goals: 238
Sweden goals: 188

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE GAME BLOG 

HELSINKI, Finland – Canada’s National Men’s Team has secured its spot in the quarterfinals at the 2022 IIHF World Championship after defeating France 7-1 in its final preliminary-round game on Tuesday.

• Pierre-Luc Dubois (Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que./Winnipeg, NHL) led the offence with two goals and an assist.
• Dylan Cozens (Whitehorse, Y.T./Buffalo, NHL) chipped in with a goal and two helpers.
• Eric O’Dell (Ottawa, Ont./Dynamo Moscow, KHL) scored his first IIHF World Championship goal on a breakaway.
• Max Comtois (Longueuil, Que./Anaheim, NHL), Zach Whitecloud (Brandon, Man./Vegas, NHL) and Damon Severson (Melville, Sask./New Jersey, NHL) rounded out the scoring.
• Drake Batherson (New Minas, N.S./Ottawa, NHL) contributed four assists.
• Chris Driedger (Winnipeg, Man./Seattle, NHL) made 15 saves.
• Canada outshot France 35-16.

Next Game:

Canada vs. Sweden (quarterfinal) – Thursday, May 26 (9:20 a.m. ET/6:20 a.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will continue their extensive coverage of the 2022 IIHF World Championship, with TSN broadcasting four quarterfinals, both semifinals, and the bronze and gold medal games. RDS will air two quarterfinals, including Canada’s quarterfinal against Sweden, as well as both semifinals, and the bronze and gold medal games.

Quotes:

“I liked the way we played for the full 60 minutes tonight. We did the things we needed to do and improved on some of the aspects of our game we wanted to focus on. We were moving the puck a lot better, getting more shots and we had net-front traffic, and I am happy with the way our guys responded today. No matter who we were going to match up against in the quarterfinals, we knew we would be getting a tough opponent. We are going to need to be patient against Sweden, but we know we have the character and our players are ready for the challenge.”

- Head coach Claude Julien (Orleans, Ont.) on tonight’s performance and the quarterfinals

“We are happy with the way we played tonight. We do not want to give other teams opportunities to score or expose us defensively, and that was a focus tonight. We do not need to trade scoring chances with other teams all game, but rather limit the scoring chances they get and capitalize on our own. We are confident in our team and the players we have, and we need to play our game and play the right way to have success now that a medal is on the line.”

- Dubois on capitalizing on scoring chances

“It is going to be an amazing game. [Sweden] is obviously a very skilled team and they work hard, and they have some good NHL players. It is going to be a lot of fun, but from our perspective we are scoring some goals and gaining confidence, and that is a key for our success. We are really looking forward to the challenge on Thursday.”

- Cole Sillinger (Regina, Sask./Columbus, NHL) on playing Sweden in the quarterfinals

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE GAME BLOG 

HELSINKI, Finland – Despite a late third period goal, Canada’s National Men’s Team’s comeback effort was cut short as it dropped its second-consecutive game at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, falling to Denmark 3-2 on Monday.

• Max Comtois (Longueuil, Que./Anaheim, NHL) opened the scoring for Canada just over two minutes into the second period.
• Ryan Graves (Yarmouth, N.S./New Jersey, NHL) brought Canada within one on a late third period blast from the point.
  • Adam Lowry (Calgary, Alta./Winnipeg, NHL), Damon Severson (Melville, Sask./New Jersey, NHL) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que./Winnipeg, NHL) chipped in with one assist apiece.
  • Chris Driedger (Winnipeg, Man./Seattle, NHL) made 13 saves.
  • Canada outshot Denmark 25-16.

Next Game:

Canada vs. France – Tuesday, May 24 (1:20 p.m. ET/10:20 a.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 64 and 33 games, respectively; check local listings for details.

Quotes:

“It is important for us to realize that every team is going to play their best against us. We may not have been as prepared as we should have been in the first period, and we fell behind 2-0 and had to play catch-up. We played really well in the second period, but penalties took a bit of momentum away from us. In the third period, the Danes were playing desperate and were blocking shots and getting in shooting lanes because they wanted to win so badly. It is important for us to start taking that approach as well if we intend on being champions at the end of this tournament. We need a little more desperation from our group, which I know we have, and we will be fine.”

- Head coach Claude Julien (Orleans, Ont.) on today’s loss

“We did not capitalize on our chances, and our play with the puck was not as good as it needs to be. [Denmark] took advantage of their opportunities, and we had some good chances to score but we were not able to take advantage. [Denmark] was opportunistic when they needed to be, but we did not do a good enough job managing the puck. We need to play hard and simple tomorrow. We have to play a hard-nosed game, and get to the dirty areas to score goals from rebounds and deflections.”

- Graves on taking advantage of scoring opportunities and managing puck possession

“We have to give [Denmark] credit. They played a good game and were really good defensively, but we need to find ways to score goals, and battle in front of the net to give ourselves scoring chances. We need to regroup now. We have another game tomorrow, so we will look at the video and look at what we can do better. We need to come ready to play tomorrow because the tournament is not over.”

- Nicolas Roy (Amos, Que./Vegas, NHL) on today’s game and preparing for France

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

Canada’s National Men’s Team finishes the preliminary round Tuesday in a position it didn’t expect; needing a win to absolutely secure a spot in the quarterfinals at the 2022 IIHF World Championship.

LAST GAME

Canada fell behind early and, despite getting close, couldn’t find the tying goal as it dropped its second in a row, 3-2 to Denmark. Max Comtois scored early in the second period to halve the Danish lead and Ryan Graves made it a one-goal game again late in the third, but that would be as close as the Canadians got. Chris Driedger made 21 saves between the pipes for Canada.

France surprisingly jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on Switzerland before falling 5-2 to the Group A leaders on Sunday. Alexandre Texier and Valentin Claireaux had the two first-period goals for France and Sebastian Ylonen made 12 saves to take that lead. But Switzerland answered 25 seconds into the second period, tied it around the 12-minute mark and had the lead before the middle frame was done.

LAST MEETING

Canada and France last met at the worlds in 2019, a 5-2 win for Canada – its fourth-straight victory against the French. Canada jumped out to a 3-0 lead (from Anthony Mantha, Darnell Nurse and Anthony Cirelli) in the first period, but France answered back with goals in the second and third period to cut the lead to 3-2. Mantha and Mark Stone added insurance markers midway through the third and Carter Hart made 21 saves to secure the win.

WHAT TO WATCH

Slow starts continue to plague Canada, as it has given up the first goal in three of its six games, including two of the last three. It is also coming off back-to-back losses – meaning the match-up against France has playoff implications. As long as Canada can secure at least a single point against France, even a regulation win from Slovakia will not be enough to knock out the defending champions from the playoff picture.

France is out of contention for a playoff spot and isn’t in danger of relegation, so realistically, this team is playing for pride and little else. But as we’ve heard time-and-again, teams will always bring their A-game against Canada. France will be rested and features one of the top goaltenders in the tournament in Henri Corentin Buysse, who owns a .931 save percentage in four games.

A LOOK BACK

Canada and France have played 14 times at the worlds, with Canada holding the clear advantage – 12 wins and a plus-64 goal differential.

France has made things more interesting in recent years. It’s most recent win came in 2014, a 3-2 shootout victory, and in 2017 the Canadians came from behind for a 3-2 prelim win. Ryan O’Reilly counted in the first period and Claude Giroux tied the game in the last minute of the second before Marc-Edouard Vlasic won it for Canada early in the third.

All-time record: Canada leads 12-2-0 (W-L-T)
Canada goals: 85
France goals: 21