Spread across a handful of national teams, several Detroit Red Wings had a good weekend as the World Championship passed the halfway point.
The U.S., which features Wings coach Derek Lalonde as part of the staff and prospect Carter Mazur on the lineup, improved to 5-0 with a 3-0 victory over Denmark at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland. All the goals were scored in the last 10 minutes. The big upset of the day happened in Group B, where the Swiss stunned favorite Canada, winning 3-2. The Swiss improved to 5-0 and ascended to the top spot in their group.
The U.S. next plays France on Sunday, then finish the preliminary round with the biggest challenger in Group A: Sweden. That game is on Tuesday; the quarterfinals begin Thursday.
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Sweden moved into second place in Group A after beating France, 4-0. Jonatan Berggren contributed his second goal and fifth point of the tournament and Lucas Raymond had an assist to tally a four and four helpers in the tournament.
Dominik Kubalik scored his tournament-leading seventh goal and 11th point to edge Czechia past Norway, 2-0, at Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia. Czechia is in second place in Group B, while Canada dropped to third. Wings forward Joe Veleno, at least, is having a good tournament, with two goals and three assists after five games.
Host Finland claimed a 3-1 victory over underdog Austria to extend its winning streak to three games after getting off to a shaky start at the tournament. Wings defenseman Olli Määttä recorded two assists to help the Finns move closer to securing a spot in the quarterfinals.
Denmark, which has had a good showing, is in fourth place in Group A. But Moritz Seider’s Germany, after starting 0-3, have won two in a row to move within striking distance of the top four. The Germans finish the preliminary round with games against underdogs Hungary and France, so there’s a good chance Seider will be playing into next weekend. The tournament runs through May 28.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Next up: The draft
What: 2023 NHL draft.
When/where: June 28-29; Nashville, Tennessee.
TV: ESPN.
The Red Wings’ picks (with overall picks in parentheses): Round 1 — No. 9 (9), No. 17 (17); Round 2 — No. 8 (41), No. 9 (42), No. 10 (43); Round 3 — No. 9 (73); Round 4 — No. 22 (118); Round 5 — No. 9 (137); Round 6 — No. 9 (169); Round 7 — No. 9 (201).