:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52463743/ZA1_4131.0.jpeg)
If you’re both a fan of United States hockey and the San Jose Sharks I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is the Americans stomped Latvia 6-1 to open their World Juniors tournament on Monday. The bad news? Two Sharks prospects combined for zero shots on goal in the process.
In truth, neither Karlis Cukste nor Rudolfs Balcers are expected to get much done in this tournament because Latvia isn’t going to get much done against an incredibly tough group. Russia, Canada and the United States are teams the Latvians don’t stand a chance against, so don’t read too much into it.
Just make sure you watch Latvia’s game against Slovakia if you get the chance. That’s coming up on Friday, in case you’re interested. Here’s a quick rundown of the rest of the scores from Monday’s action.
Canada 5, Russia 3
Dylan Strome potted a pair of goals and Matt Barzal notched three points as the Canadians ran away with this one despite being tied 1-1 with the Russians in the early going. Canada is a favorite for a reason and will be a tough test for the Americans in this tournament.
Czech Republic 2, Finland 1
One of the more compelling games of the day, the Czechs only outshot the Finns 30-23 and scored the game-winning goal with fewer than two minutes to go to get the win. This is a disappointing result for Finland, but there’s plenty of tournament to go.
Sweden 6, Denmark 1
Alexander Nylander scored twice and the Swedes rolled past the Danes easily in their first game of the tournament. Unfortunately these haves and have-nots games are still a major part of the tournament.
We’re back at it tomorrow!