RUS 3, BLR 1: Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov finally tallied a shot on goal but little else in 12:39 TOI during Russia’s (3-0) victory over Belarus (1-2). Admittedly, Kuli has played second-fiddle to a number of NHL and KHL talents through the first three games (oh yeah…he’s still only 19), and while not necessarily contributing on offense or bolstering the defense with explosions out of the zone comparable to what’s been seen so far in Sunrise, the kid’s been solid and anything but a drain on his country’s team.
CZE 2, SWE 1: What might have turned into a bizarro-style, worlds-colliding episode was not to be as Sweden (2-1) returned Toronto’s Jonas Gustavsson to the crease – over Panthers prospect Jacob Markstrom – only to fall at the hands of Tomas Vokoun and the Czech Republic’s (2-1) no-name offense. T-Vo stopped 31 shots while Gustavsson held off 35. Expect to see Markstrom (1-0) Friday against Latvia.