A quintet of Florida Panthers will be in action today at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.
Captain Aleksander Barkov (2G/6A) and Anton Lundll (3G/2A) and the rest of Team Finland, who finshed second in Group A, will do battle with Marek Alscher (2G) and Czechia, who came in third place in Group B, at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.
The early game in Fribourg, the most compelling of the quarterfinal round, will see Matthew Tkachuk (4G/3A) and the United States face-off against arch-rival Canada at BCF Arena. The Canadians took Group B with a perfect 7-0 record, while the Americans had to win their final two games just to advance from pool play.
After the inclusion of that game, Sandis Vilmanis (4G/7A), and Latvia, who finished in third place in Group A will take on surprising Norway, who came in second place in Group B behind Canada. In addition to leading Latvia in scoring, the red-hot Vilamanis is tied for second in points with Macklin Celebrini, Lucas Raymond and Tim Meier.
The late game in Zurich pits host Switzerland, the winners of Group A, against Sweden, who came in fourth place in Group B.
Quarterfinals
- Czechia (B3) vs. Finland (A2) 10:20 a.m. (Zurich) (NHL Network)
- United States (A4) vs. Canada (B1) (Fribourg) 10:20 a.m. (NHL Network YouTube)
- Sweden (B4) vs. Switzerland (A1) (Zurich) 2:20 p.m. (NHL Network)
- Group B: Latvia (A3) vs. Norway (B2) (Fribourg) 2:20 p.m. (NHL Network YouTube)
Hurricanes 4, Canadiens 0
The Carolina Hurricanes got first period goals from Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal and Logan Stankoven en route to a dominant 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 at Bell Centre. Andrei Svechnikov completed the scoring into an empty net, Nikolaj Ehlers had two assists, and Frederik Andresen stopped all 18 Montreal shots for his third shutout of the playoffs. Jakub Dobes made 39 saves for the Canadiens, who are on the brink of elimination.
Memorial Cup
Panthers prospect Shea Busch and the Everett Silvertips posted a 4-0 win over the host Kelowna Rockets to advance to the semifinal of the Memorial Cup, where they will face the Chicoutimi Saguenéens on Friday. Busch was credited with two shots on goal and finished the game with an even rating. The winner of Friday’s game will face the Kitchener Rangers in the final.