The 2026 IIHF World Championship gets underway today in Switzerland and five Florida Panthers will be taking part, including recently recovered captain Aleksander Barkov. Joining Barkov on the Finnish squad will be fellow Cats center Anton Lundell. Matthew Tkachuk will play for last year’s winners, the United States, who struck gold at the tournament for the first time since 1933. Panthers prospects Sandis Vilmanis and Marek Alscher, who both got a taste of NHL action this season, will toil for Latvia and Czechia, respectively. NHL Network’s got the television coverage.
Today’s games
- Group A: Finland 3, Germany 1
- Group B: Canada 5, Sweden 3
- Group A: United States vs. Switzerland (Zurich) 2:20 p.m. (NHL Network)
- Group B: Czechia vs. Denmark (Fribourg) 2:20 p.m.
Thursday’s NHL results
Montreal 6, Buffalo 3 – Montreal leads series three games to two.
- More from Eyes On The Prize and Die By The Blade
Vegas 5, Anaheim 1 – Vegas wins series four games to two.
- More from Knights On Ice and Pucks Of A Feather