2024 IIHF World Championship Roundup: Standouts from Day 6
We’ve knocked another day off at the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia, and the playoff battle still looks tight.
The opening two games were quite one-sided. Germany scored early and often against Latvia, winning 8-1 in a game between two teams that will likely find themselves fighting for a playoff spot. Czechia won 7-4 over Denmark, but the Danes did make it 3-3 early in the final stanza.
During the two evening games, neither bout featured high-scoring action. Slovakia skated out to a 4-0 win, while Switzerland beat Great Britain 3-0.
With Switzerland’s victory, they sit first in Group A with 11 points, two ahead of Czechia after four games of play. Great Britain is the lone team in Group A without a point, making their meeting against Denmark on Thursday an exceptionally important one.
In Group B, Slovakia overtook Latvia for second in Group B with eight points, one back of Sweden. The top four teams are separated by three points, while No. 4-7 have a three-point spread. Poland is currently last in Group B as the lone team without a win of any kind.
Great Britain
#1 Jackson Whistle, G: Whistle never had a chance to really settle down because the Swiss peppered him with high-quality chances. But he was excellent at 5-on-5, made some big stops on some high-danger chances around the net and seemed really dialed in. Two of the goals were unlucky, going off his body and in, but I thought he was GB’s best player just like he was against Canada.
Switzerland
#90 Roman Josi, D (Nashville Predators): Josi’s first shot on net hit off Whistle and onto Hischier’s stick, helping him grab his first point of the night. He then evaded a British winger to help set up the 3-0 goal on the power play, a move he’s done successfully multiple times over the past week. As expected, he’s been one of the top defenders at this tournament.
#21 Kevin Fiala, LW (Los Angeles Kings): Fiala had a pair of assists in his second game of the tournament, both of which have been great showings. Jetlag? No such thing for a guy who moves like he does. His addition to the lineup has made Switzerland’s possession game even more dangerous.
#97 Jonas Siegenthaler, D (New Jersey Devils): Siegenthaler’s patience came up clutch on the 2-0 goal. He outlasted a British forward on the blueline before finding Dean Kukan, who blasted in a shot. Compared to Josi, Siegenthaler’s game is built around shutting guys down and playing high-quality defense – but it’s still nice to see him contribute offensively.
Slovakia
#17 Simon Nemec, D (New Jersey Devils): The way he skates and moves with the puck looks effortless. He assisted on the 2-0 goal after waiting out the Polish pressure and finding Tatar in open ice. Nemec has been Slovakia’s best blueliner in every game this year, showing that, despite being one of the youngest players in this tournament, he can handle 20 minutes a night with ease.
#90 Tomas Tatar, LW (Seattle Kraken): Tatar had a primary assist on the 1-0 goal and then scored the second to take Poland out of the game early. A third point late in the game was just gravy. As one of just a handful of veteran forwards with NHL experience on this team, Tatar has been excellent with and without the puck. Perhaps…. even better than Juraj Slafkvosky? I’d say so. He’s just vibing well right now.
#31 Samuel Hlavaj, G (Minnesota Wild): With 20 saves, Hlavaj was up for the challenge again today. He wasn’t busy near the end but he hasn’t had an off day yet. He was great against the Americans and was in full control today for a well-earned shutout.
Poland
#33 Tomas Fucik, G: Fucik took over for John Murray in relief yesterday and gave his team some much-needed life. Today, he kept Poland in it in a game they just couldn’t seem to get anything going. It didn’t matter much in the end today given the lost, but I thought he was great until he was injured late in the third period. If he’s OK, I do have to wonder if Fucik takes over as No. 1.
Germany
#30 Philipp Grubauer, G (Seattle Kraken): The Germans needed their No. 1 to step up after a few difficult showings and he did just that today. He wasn’t too busy with just 20 saves, but goaltending proved to e the difference in the first half when Germany found themselves with a 5-0 lead. Grubauer was pulled from his last start but played some great hockey today in an important victory for both him, and his team.
#33 JJ Peterka, LW (Buffalo Sabres): It’s been a difficult tournament for Peterka, who hasn’t come close to matching the play that made him one of the best players a year ago. But his power-play goal that made it 5-0, followed by his 7-0 marker, was a bit of a relief both for Germany, and for Peterka himself. When he’s on his game, his shot is lethal. He’s been frustrated too often this year, trying to find the same magic that made him dominant in Latvia a year ago. Maybe today will help spark that next-level play.
#73 Lukas Reichel, LW (Chicago Blackhawks): Playing in just his second game of the tournament, Reichel had two assists – both on Peterka’s goals – to help give the Germans another truly dangerous scoring threat. It wasn’t a great season for Reichel after high expectations in Chicago, but a tournament like this can be good for his confidence.
#83 Leonhard Pfoderl, RW: Pfoderl is tied for the tournament scoring lead with six points after scoring the 3-0 goal. He and Yasin Ehliz seem to always find each other on the rush, and Pfoderl’s goal really helped take the any steam out of Latvia’s attack. Pfoderl has been so clutch for the Germans early on but he can’t relent down the stretch.
#6 Kai Wissmann, D: With a goal and an assist, Wissmann played his best game today. He’s been a good puck-moving defender for the Germans for a few years now but this was one of his better offensive games. He laos had a few nice hits in close to help keep the puck out of he crease.
Latvia
#6 Markuss Komuls, D: It was a rough game for everyone on Latvia, but Komuls scored the lone goal and had a somewhat decent game defensively. I thought he battled hard in front of his own goaltenders and landed a couple of decent hits, but it was still a difficult day, regardless.
Czechia
#73 Ondrej Kase, RW: It was another excellent game for Kase, who had an assist on the Lukas Sedlak goal that made it 3-1. But more impressively, he just brought a non-stop motor to every shift. He was so energetic, so smart with the puck and nearly had a goal of his own in the second period but just lost control. He’s been solid over the past week.
#1 Lukas Dostal, G (Anaheim Ducks): Dostal has been Czechia’s most important player outside of maybe Roman Cervenka. The Danes tested him often early, and his diving blocker save midway through the second may have saved the victory. It’s still early, but Dostal has emerged as one of the top candidates for goalie of the tournament after passing Petr Mrazek and Karel Veljmeka for the No. 1 gig.
#64 David Kampf, C (Toronto Maple Leafs): Kampf has been one of Czechia’s better two-way players, and his assist up on Matej Stransky’s 6-3 goal was pretty. He’s been seeing the bigger ice quite well, using the extra space to make high-quality passes on the rush. It was good to see him rewarded for it.
#96 David Tomasek, C: Tomasek just loves taking space away in the offensive zone. It’s what he does. But he also had a pair of assists and won some key faceoffs, especially later in the game when it was still tight. He’s been one of Czechia’s better forwards throughout this tournament.
Denmark
#80 Frederik Dichow, G: It’s not easy to make starts on consecutive nights – it’s even more difficult when you get run over twice in the first period. That didn’t seem to slow him down as he was rock solid through two periods before the Danish defense seemingly gave up. Dichow allowed seven goals, but very few were actually his fault in another solid outing for the former Canadiens prospect.
#65 Christian Wejse, RW: Wejse scored and added an assist in Denmark’s comeback effort. His line – Denmark’s third – seemed to really jive together in the second half, with Mathias From also scoring a goal. Wejse was good in a game that saw the team’s top line get shut down in the latest stages.
#42 Phillip Bruggisser, D: Bruggiser had two assists while matching up against some of Czechia’s best players on the second-pairing. He played over half of the third period, which may have been a bad coaching decision as Denmark found themselves losing gas near the end. But the fact he was counted on as much as he was says something about the way he played.
#12 Oscar Fisker Molgaard, RW (Seattle Kraken): OFM had a quiet few games but scored the 3-3 goal early in the third period to give the Danes some hope. It fell apart after that, but between his goal and his defensive commitment, I thought OFM had his best game of the tournament. It had to be good for his confidence.