With only two games on the WJC slate Friday there were fewer things to take notice of in Victoria and Vancouver, but both games set up bigger matchups on Saturday that will start setting the table for the medal round.
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CZECHS LET DOWN BY POWER PLAY IN WINNABLE GAME
In a tournament where the Czech Republic has a legitimate chance to surprise and, perhaps, challenge for its first medal since 2005, Friday’s loss to the Russians will be a tough one to swallow.
While their stars showed up when they needed in a 2-1 OT win against Switzerland to open the tournament, Filip Zadina, Martin Necas and Martin Kaut were kept off the scoresheet despite a few good chances against Russia. They each had just one shot through two periods, but generated a few more opportunities in the third and came a post away from tying it in the last three minutes.
Backed by an excellent game from goalie Lukas Dostal (85th overall to Anaheim in 2018), the Czechs were never far from the lead and if not for two critical errors on the power play could have pulled off the upset. The Russian PK scored twice, taking advantage of a Czech power play that cheated a little deep and gave up a couple rushes against.[sidebar]
Next up for the Czechs is a rested Canadian team on Saturday. A Czech regulation win would scramble the Group A standings, but the upset hopefuls can’t wait any longer for its offence to go. They’ve quickly turned into a top-heavy team that leans on its top two lines. Following a trend we’ve seen around the NHL this year, the Czechs put their three biggest weapons Zadina, Necas and Kaut together in a bid to kickstart the scoring.
But despite some quality chances through two games, it hasn’t happened yet. The Czech power play has been outscored 2-1 in the tournament so far, and the team has only managed three goals overall in two games. The only goal it scored against Russia deflected off a face and in.
To keep up with Canada’s offensive weapons it’s imperative for the biggest Czech scorers to finally break through. Zadina has been held pointless through two games while Necas, who has played seven NHL games this season for Carolina, has just one assist. Those two with Kaut have to act as the “super line” as long as they’re together and carry the team’s offence.
JOEL FARABEE WITH BIG GAME FOLLOWING PROMOTION TO TOP LINE
With Jack Hughes ruled out for Friday’s game and considered day-to-day, the Americans shuffled their lines and didn’t miss a beat against Kazakhstan.
Joel Farabee (14th overall to Philadelphia in 2018) usually plays the left side of Hughes’ wing, but was moved up to the top line with Josh Norris and Jason Robertson. And though the game ended in an expected lopsided 8-2 win for the Americans, all three of Farabee’s goals were scored within 10:10 of the Kazakhs tying the game at one in the first period.
Again it’s hard to draw any conclusions in games like this, so it remains to be seen how in sync this American offence is even if it just had a 66-shot game. The Slovaks held it to two goals in the tournament opener, both of which came in a frantic third period.
Team USA plays Sweden and the top-ranked power play on Saturday. Defensively, the Swedes have done a good job through two games of keeping shots against to lower danger areas of the ice, but their blueliners can also force the issue on offence.
In fact, the defenders could be the key to victory for both sides. Sweden’s Erik Brannstrom leads all D-men in scoring at the WJC, while Rasmus Sandin is as comfortable as you’d like an AHLer to be in this tournament and Adam Boqvist has shown some flashy freelancing. None of the American blueliners are challenging for the tournament scoring lead, but first-rounders Quinn Hughes and K’Andre Miller have been dangerous in two games.
Saturday’s game could determine first place in Pool B and should bring out the best in both teams.
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