The 2015 IIHF World Championship moved to the knockout stage of the tournament with four quarterfinal games today. Three of the tilts involved members of the Florida Panthers.
Czech Republic 5, Finland 3: Jaromir Jagr delivered a huge two-goal, one assist performance as the host team held off Finland to set up a date with powerhouse Canada on Saturday. Jagr scored a power-play goal and set up another by Jan Kovar in the second period. The 43-year-old bagged the game-winning goal with 4:30 left in regulation time. Jagr finished with a game-high 7 shots on goal and an even rating in 17:03 TOI. Jussi Jokinen scored early in the second period to put the Finns up 2-1 and then set up Aleksander Barkov‘s maker 4:24 into the third, which tied the game at three. Jokinen ended the tilt with one shot on goal and an even rating in 18:53 TOI. The veteran finished the tournament with 11 poins (3G/8A) in 8 games. Barkov fired 3 shots on net and ended the tilt with an even rating in 20:11 of ice time. The 19-year-old pivot finished the tournament with 7 points (4G/3A) in 8 games. For more click here
Canada 9, Belarus 0: Tyler Seguin scored three times in Canada’s 9-0 thrashing of Belarus. Brent Burns and Ryan O’Reilly each lit the lamp twice and Mike Smith stopped all 24 shots for the shutout. Florida’s Aaron Ekblad finished with no points, 2 shots on goal and an even rating in 14:14. The rookie defenseman took a slashing call late in the second period. For more click here
Russia 3, Sweden 1: Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin scored two goals and set up another to power the Russians past Sweden, setting up a semifinal date with Team USA on Saturday. Panther Dmitry Kulikov logged 21:35 of ice time and finished with one shot on net and a +3 rating. Kulikov took a tripping minor in the first period. For more click here
USA 3, Switzerland 1: Winnipeg Jets prospect Connor Hellebuyck stopped 21 shots as the Americans overcame a first period deficit to win 3-1 over Switzerland. Swiss blue-liner Roman Josi opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 13:04 mark. The U.S. got second period tallies from Ben Smith and Charlie Coyle fifty-seven seconds apart to take the lead. Jake Gardiner scored midway through the final frame to put the game away. For more click here
Semifinals (May 15)
Canada (Ekblad) vs. Czech Republic (Jagr) 9:30 a.m.
USA vs. Russia (Kulikov) 1:00 p.m.