Petr David Josek/Associated Press Russia remained undefeated at the 2019 World Hockey Championship in Slovakia on Saturday, while both the United States and Canada were victorious as well. In the best and most significant game of the day, Sweden beat Switzerland 4-3 to create a three-way tie with Switzerland and the Czech Republic for second place in Group B behind Russia. Here is a rundown of the final scores for all six games played Saturday in Slovakia, along with a recap of how each contest played out. May 18 Results Group A: United States 7, Denmark 1 Group B: Russia 3, Latvia 1 Group A: Canada 8, Germany 1 Group B: Norway 7, Italy 1 Group A: Slovakia 7, Great Britain 1 Video Play Button Videos you might like Group B: Sweden 4, Switzerland 3 Visit the IIHF's official website to see the updated standings for pool play. USA 7, Denmark 1 Team USA kicked off play at the World Hockey Championship on Saturday with a big 7-1 win over Denmark, marking its fourth consecutive victory since losing to host Slovakia. The Americans jumped all over Denmark in the first period with four unanswered goals from the midway point of the period on. Denmark finally got on the board with a goal from Nick Olesen in the second period, but Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat replenished the four-goal advantage with his second tally of the game from Blackhawks teammate Patrick Kane. Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin made it 6-1 later in the second period, and Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel put an exclamation point on the victory with his first goal of the tournament in the third. Eichel finished with a goal and an assist, while Kane recorded three assists. DeBrincat registered two goals and one assist, giving him six goals and two assists in the tournament. The dominant win over Denmark was no small feat for Team USA since the Danes previously lost to Finland by two and Germany by one. While games against Germany and Canada remain, the Americans are fairly comfortably in position to reach the quarterfinals currently. Russia 3, Latvia 1 Russia overcame a 1-0 deficit through one period to beat Latvia 3-1 and remain undefeated with a perfect 5-0-0-0 record at the World Hockey Championship on Saturday. Latvia shocked the Russians when Oskars Cibulskis scored midway through the opening period to give Latvia a 1-0 lead that would last until the early stages of the second frame. Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov tied it just 27 seconds into the second, while Nikita Gusev gave Russia the lead just over three minutes later. Tampa Bay Lightning forward and presumptive 2018-19 Hart Memorial Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov gave Russia the insurance marker it needed later in the period, and the Russians held on to the 3-1 margin to score another win. The game was as close as the score would indicate since Russia only out-shot Latvia 33-27 in the game after thoroughly dominating in most of its previous games. Despite not yet getting the likes of Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin going in the tournament thus far, Russia is still undefeated, and it has a good chance to seize the No. 1 seed in Group B. The Russians still have two tough group games remaining, though, against Switzerland and Sweden. Canada 8, Germany 1 Germany suffered its first loss at the 2019 World Hockey Championship on Saturday, as Canada dominated from start to finish in an 8-1 rout. The Canadians were anchored by big performances from Vegas Golden Knights winger Mark Stone and Detroit Red Wings winger Anthony Mantha. Stone scored three of Canada's first four goals in his hat trick effort, while Mantha scored twice in the third period and now has a tournament-leading seven goals. It was apparent from the early going that Germany was in for a tough day, as Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot scored 2:01 into the game. Stone added a goal late in the first and scored again in the second before Yasin Ehliz cut the deficit to 3-1 for Germany. Stone scored again less than one minute later, though, and Canada then proceeded to take full control in the third. Canada peppered Germany in the final frame and scored four goals to produce the final margin of 8-1. Germany was out-shot by a 49-16 margin after picking up wins over Great Britain, Denmark, France and Slovakia previously. With the win, Canada is now tied with Germany in Group A, as they are both 4-0-0-1 with 12 points. Canada has a shot to win the group with games against Denmark and the United States remaining. Meanwhile, Germany still has to face Team USA and Finland after having already played the easy part of its schedule. Norway 7, Italy 1 Norway destroyed Italy 7-1 at the 2019 World Hockey Championship on Saturday, which ensures that it will not be relegated to a lower division next year. While the game looks one-sided on paper, it wasn't until the third period that Norway truly started to impose its will. After a goal by Norway's Alexander Reichenberg in the first period, there was not another goal in the game until 1:47 into the third when Matthias Trettenes gave Norway a 2-0 advantage. Italy then cut the lead in half 16 seconds later with a goal from Angelo Miceli. Following that Italian goal, Norway ripped off five consecutive goals, which helped it improve to 2-0-0-4, while Italy fell to 0-0-0-6. Norway's only remaining game is against Latvia, which means it could realistically finish with a respectable record of three wins and four losses. Italy's final group game will come against winless Austria in a game that will decide who gets relegated and knocked out of the World Hockey Championship next year. Slovakia 7, Great Britain 1 Host Slovakia kept its slim hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Hockey Championship alive Saturday with a 7-1 win over Great Britain. It took only two minutes for the Slovaks to seize control of the game, as Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera scored 2:04 in and Montreal Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar added another goal 21 seconds later to make it 2-0. Mike Hammond scored late in the first for the Brits after a Martin Marincin goal made it 3-0 in favor of Slovakia, but Great Britain never posed a true threat. Slovakia went on to score three unanswered goals in the second period, and then David Bondra scored late in the third for Slovakia to make it 7-1. The win helped Slovakia improve to 3-0-0-3, giving it nine points in the tournament with one game to play. The Slovaks are two points behind Team USA, who have two games remaining against Germany and Canada. That means Slovakia must beat Denmark in its final game of group play and get some help. Meanwhile, Great Britain has now lost all six of its games, and provided France does not garner more than one point in its next game against Finland, the meeting between Great Britain and France will determine who gets relegated. Sweden 4, Switzerland 3 Sweden handed Switzerland its first loss of the tournament at the 2019 World Hockey Championship on Saturday thanks to a goal by Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to break a 3-3 tie in the third period. After Gaetan Haas tied the score at 3-3 for Switzerland midway through the final frame, a trailing Ekman-Larsson took a pass from Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander and scored what ended up being the game-winner just 1:20 later: While most of Saturday's games were blowouts, that wasn't the case in the clash between Sweden and Switzerland. No team ever led by more than one goal, and the lead changed on numerous occasions throughout. Blackhawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson gave Sweden the 3-2 lead in the second, but Haas tied it for Switzerland in the third before Ekman-Larsson netted the decisive marker. Nylander was the top performer in the contest for the Swedes with one goal and two assists. Both Sweden and Switzerland are now 4-0-0-1 in the tournament and have 12 points apiece.<doc-sep>This wasn’t the start Team USA wanted at the men’s world hockey championships Friday in Slovakia. Facing the host country, Team USA — coached by the Red Wings’ Jeff Blashill — lost 4-1. Farmington Hills native Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks) scored the lone USA goal on the power play. Slovakia scored twice in a span of 3 minutes, 6 seconds early in the second period, snapping a 1-1 tie. Former Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar scored the second goal, making it a 3-1 game. Slovakia goalie Patrik Rybar — the Grand Rapids Griffins goalie — stopped 11 USA shots. Wings forwards Dylan Larkin and Luke Glendening were kept off the scoresheet for the Americans, who will face France on Sunday. Earlier in the day, Finland defeated Canada, 3-1. Red Wings forwards Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi were held scoreless for Canada. tkulfan@detroitnews.com Twitter: @tkulfan<doc-sep>Kaapo Kakko scored a hat trick to lift Finland to a 4–2 win over host Slovakia at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday. BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Kaapo Kakko scored a hat trick to lift Finland to a 4-2 win over host Slovakia at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday. Kakko, who led Finland with two goals in an upset 3-1 win over Canada on Friday, netted his first with 3:49 to go in the first period for a 2-1 lead. Martin Marincin equalized for Slovakia in the second before Kakko scored midway through third in Group A in Kosice. He added his third into an empty net with 15 seconds remaining. The 18-year-old Kakko is considered a possible first pick in the NHL draft. Finland next plays the United States on Monday. In Group B in Bratislava, Filip Hronek and Michael Frolik had two goals and an assist each for the Czech Republic on the way to a 7-2 rout of Norway. The Czechs kept a perfect record at the tournament after beating defending champion Sweden 5-2 on Friday. Earlier, Germany star forward Leon Draisaitl scored a goal in a 3-1 victory over Britain in a return for the British team to the world hockey championship after 25 years. It took the Germans almost 40 minutes to beat goaltender Ben Bowns. Moritz Seider scored the opening goal with 39 seconds remaining in the middle period in Group A. Mike Hammond scored an unassisted tying goal early in the final period, exploiting Draisaitl’s blunder behind his own goal, the first goal for Britain in the top division since 1994. The goals from Yasin Ehliz on a power play and another by Draisaitl settled the game midway through the last frame. In Group B, Latvia rallied from a goal down to top Austria 5-2. Earlier Saturday, Kevin Fiala scored a hat trick and added an assist as Switzerland thrashed Italy 9-0 in their first game. It was Switzerland’s biggest victory over Italy at the worlds. Last year’s finalist, Switzerland, didn’t waste time and took control with four goals in the opening period in the Group B game. Fiala opened the scoring with a backhand on a breakaway 77 seconds in, followed by Gregory Hofmann, Lino Martschini and Vincent Praplan. Fiala added his second in the second period and completed his hat trick on a power play in the third. Simon Moser, Romain Loeffel and Nico Hischier also scored. Goaltender Reto Berra stopped 19 shots for the shutout. In Group A, Frederik Storm scored the winner for Denmark to prevail over France 5-4 in a penalty shootout.<doc-sep>
Petr David Josek/Associated Press Some of the world's hockey powers flexed their might during Wednesday's group play at the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Slovakia. The United States and Russia each won in convincing fashion, maintaining their spots near or at the top of the group standings. Elsewhere, Switzerland handled Norway and Germany stunned the host country in the final two minutes. Here is a look at the full results from Wednesday's slate. Wednesday Scores Group A: United States defeats Great Britain, 6-3 Group B: Switzerland defeats Norway, 4-1 Group B: Russia defeats Italy, 10-0 Group A: Germany defeats Slovakia, 3-2 United States 6, Great Britain 3 It appeared as if Great Britain was going to provide the United States with a challenge when the game was tied at one through the first period, but the Americans seized control with three goals in the second period and never looked back. Video Play Button Videos you might like The United States extended its lead to 6-1 before allowing two late goals in garbage time. The victors used a balanced attack with six different players scoring, but it was Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane who spearheaded the effort with a goal and two assists. He wasn't the only Blackhawks playmaker to get in on the action, as Alex DeBrincat found the back of the net during the second-period onslaught. Germany is the only team ahead of the United States in Group A with a 12-8 lead in points. Switzerland 4, Norway 1 Switzerland left little doubt during its win over Norway and continued its dominance by scoring the first four goals before allowing a late tally after the game was well in hand. Andres Ambuhl bookended the scoring for Switzerland with the only goal in the first period and the team's fourth and final goal during the third period. Leonardo Genoni was also dominant between the pipes and combined with Switzerland's stout defense to protect the lead throughout the contest. Switzerland is yet to allow more than a single goal in any game this tournament. It made the finals last year and is a perfect 4-0 with 12 points this year. The Americans, Russians and others will likely need to go through the Swiss if they are going to take home the world championship. Russia 10, Italy 0 Switzerland was not the only team in Group B to dominate during Wednesday's slate. Russia handled overmatched Italy in an absolute laugher with four goals in each of the first two periods before it eased up in the third with just two more. Washington Capitals fans were surely familiar with the offensive power on Russia's roster, as Evgeny Kuznetsov notched two goals and two assists and Alexander Ovechkin added a goal and an assist of his own. Russia also received three assists from Nikita Gusev of the Vegas Golden Knights. Russia and Switzerland are the only undefeated teams in Group B with 12 points and play each other Sunday. Germany 3, Slovakia 2 Germany maintained its undefeated record and moved to 4-0 and still four points clear of the Americans in thrilling fashion to complete Wednesday's slate. After taking a 1-0 lead with a Marc Michaelis goal early in the second period, Germany allowed two goals to Slovakia and was staring at a hole in crunch time. However, Markus Eisenschmid scored with less than two minutes remaining to tie the game before Leon Draisaitl put home the game-winner in the final minute. It was a heartbreaking turn of events for Slovakia after it protected the lead throughout the third period until Germany pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker. Germany still hasn't lost at this tournament but will be tested with matchups against Canada and the United States in the next two contests.