2025 IIHF World Championship: Crosby, Nazar highlight top standouts from Day 3
The first weekend of the 2025 IIHF men’s World Championship is complete, and it was a doozy.
It marked the second day with six games on the schedule, with Canada, USA, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia and Germany skating out to victories.
The first two games had wildly different results. USA improved to 2-0 thanks to a 6-0 shutout victory over Hungary, with the Americans having not allowed a goal in the tournament yet. Slovakia, meanwhile, rebounded from a 5-0 loss to Sweden on Friday by beating Slovenia 3-1, with Slovenia having one of their goals taken back due it being offside.
The midday game saw the losing teams score first in each of them. Canada allowed a tough one early, but scored seven straight to beat Latvia 7-1. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, benefited off of an own goal by the Germans in the first period, but Germany scored four straight to cap off a 4-1 victory.
The late games started much slower, but turned out to be two of the best games of the tournament. Norway put up a fight against the defending gold medalists from Czechia, but the Czechs ultimately took home the victory thanks to a David Pastrnak goal.
We’ve also had a few close looks at potential upsets, and we got extremely close to one today between France and Finland. The Bozon brothers each scored for France, and an empty-netter made it seem like the French were skating away with the victory. But a late push from Eeli Tolvanen saw the Finns make it 3-3, forcing overtime in a game that saw a 50-19 shot count after regulation in Finland’s favor. Tolvanen would then set up Juuso Parssinen on the rush in OT, finishing the game off with a 4-3 victory for the Finns.
Here’s a look at the top standouts from Sunday’s six-game slate:
Hungary 0, USA 6
Hungary
#30 Adam Vay, G: There wasn’t much Vay could have done differently. He was busy from the get-go, with just about every American chance being either a high-danger opportunity or a last-second redirection. Hungary never had a chance to keep this game close, but Vay could have easily collapsed and made the score look even worse. Luckily, he’s always good when he dons Hungary’s colors.
USA
#91 Frank Nazar, RW (Chicago Blackhawks): Nazar scored USA’s first two goals after some great placement in front of the net. He isn’t big, but he’s strong, and he can get himself in front of the net and take space away and is great at tipping shots. His second goal came from a bit of a funky angle, but he was still sharp enough to know he could score off Vay’s arm and in. I like his creativity.
#19 Cutter Gauthier, RW (Anaheim Ducks): Gauthier scored USA’s third and fourth goals tonight, helping to put the game fully out of reach for the Hungarians. Gauthier seemed to be having fun, using the extra to feed his creativity and get the puck into scoring lanes. He easily could have had another 2-3 points with the way he was flying out there.
#83 Conor Garland, LW (Vancouver Canucks): Garland was everywhere today. From engaging physically to helping generate chances, he rarely had a shift where he didn’t make something happen. He assisted on the 1-0 goal and then scored the fifth, often serving as the trailer and making plays happen from the slot. Garland is always good for the United States and that’s now two great games for him this weekend.
#43 Will Smith, RW (San Jose Sharks): Smith had a pair of assists on Gauthier’s goals, which shouldn’t be surprising given their Boston College connection. Smith makes a ton of great plays with the bigger ice – he’s quick and snappy and knows where his shooters are going to be. This was a great showing for the 20-year-old.
Slovakia 3, Slovenia 1
Slovakia
#31 Samuel Hlavaj, G (Minnesota Wild): Hlavaj wasn’t overly busy, but he had to be excellent in the third. He did allow a goal, but he made nine stops to keep it tight, including a fantastic split blocker save with about 10 minutes to go. The 23-year-old is coming off his first season in North America, where he put up some decent performances with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He’s still a long shot to make the NHL, but he’s always excellent at the World Championship.
#87 Pavol Regenda, LW: Regenda had a goal for the Slovaks, but he also had five shots. He was aggressive around the net, chasing tips and taking the Slovenian’s goaltender’s eyesight away. The 25-year-old used the 2022 World Championship to help earn him an NHL contract, so you know he likes performing each May.
Slovenia
#69 Matija Pintaric, G: It was a nice effort for Pintaric, who last played a top division game back in 2017. He made 36 saves and gave it everything he had. He was especially busy during the second period, where he made 21 stops, allowing just one. It won’t matter to Slovenia in the end, but it was still a valiant effort.
Canada 7, Latvia 1
Canada
#71 Tyson Foerster, RW (Philadelphia Flyers): What a workhorse out there. Nathan MacKinnon and Bo Horvat might have been the more dangerous threats on the scoresheet, but Foerster pushes hard around the net and was the catalyst for the 2-1 goal despite not getting credit for it. Horvat has been the shooter, MacKinnon has been the all-around threat and Foerster does the hard work along the boards. Put them together and they’re scary.
#11 Travis Konecny, RW (Philadelphia Flyers): Konecny had two goals and an assist on Canada’s top line. He’s been one of Canada’s best forwards dating back to the pre-tournament, and it’s crazy watching him have chemistry alongside Sidney Crosby. Konecny might have had a much smaller role at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he’s a leader on this team.
#91 Kent Johnson, RW (Columbus Blue Jackets): Johnson scored a pair of goals in succession to help put the game away. He’s a skilled forward with quick hands I think he’s starting to enjoy playing in the open ice a bit more. He’s also doing a good job of getting himself in front of the net to try and get re-directions, just like we saw with his first goal.
#96 Macklin Celebrini, LW (San Jose Sharks): If you ignored his third-period goal, it would have been hard not to be impressed with how good Celebrini played. While Sidney Crosby and Travis Konecny were connecting around the crease, Celebrini was chasing every puck and working like an absolute horse out there. So then, when he scored, it was icing on the cake. He had just one point, but Celebrini’s 200-foot game and ability to retrieve pucks as well as anyone make him incredibly dangerous.
#29 Marc-Andre Fleury, G: Fleury wasn’t overly busy, but he made every save look pretty. Named player of the game for Canada, he was forced to make some bigger stops than he probably would have liked. This one, in particular, was incredible. He allowed one goal – the first shot of the game, and it wasn’t pretty. But after that, the veteran looked stout. It’ll be interesting to see how Canada utilizes Fleury once Jordan Binnington is registered, but Fleury’s tournament debut was a great one.
#87 Sidney Crosby, C (Pittsburgh Penguins): Crosby is known mostly for his brilliant puck work, and he did have three assists. But I was impressed with how physically involved he was today. He was one of the team’s most aggressive players, pushing back whenever anyone tried to give him hell in front of the net. His great defensive play was a bonus, too.
Latvia
#88 Gustavs Grigals, G: So, yeah. He allowed seven goals. But he still had some big stops in his tournament debut. The former Nashville Predators prospect rarely had an easy shot against, often having to deal with some crazy screens and tips from in close. Grigals had a tougher time with head-on shots but I liked how athletic he was today in an otherwise forgettable game for the Latvians.
Germany 4, Kazakhstan 1
Germany
#7 Maximilian Kastner, LW: The 32-year-old winger is known for his hard-nosed nature, but he’s a capable producer, too. He had five points in seven games a year ago, and is already off to a great start with three points through two games. He has a good shot, but he’s a better playmaker. Combine all that with his work ethic and he’s a perfect fourth-line winger for this team.
#40 Alexander Ehl, RW: Ehl was Germany’s top set-up guy today, snagging two assists. The fourth line actually got a lot of action because of what Kastner and Ehl were doing to limit opportunities in their own zone. Ehl is in his fourth World Championship and already has been more impactful through two games than most of his previous national team experience combined. He’s a 200-foot player who does everything asked for him – you got to love it.
#53 Moritz Seider, D (Detroit Red Wings): Seider scored on his own net to open the day, but bounced back with a great play to make it 1-1 a few minutes later. From there, he brought all of his trademark attributes to the forefront – he hit hard, he battled harder, and carried the puck as well as anyone. He spent plenty of time carrying the fort in Detroit over the past few years, and that ability to stay calm under pressure has proven useful for the Germans early in this tourney.
Kazakhstan
#20 Maxim Pavlenko, G: After carrying Kazakhstan on his back against Norway yesterday, Pavlenko looked great again today. He allowed four goals, but he still made 29 stops in a game where Kazakhstan struggled to get anything going. He was especially important in the first period, making 14 saves in a 1-1 game to give his team some hope. Pavlenko will get some rest tomorrow, but it’ll be interesting to see if the Kazakhs look to ride his hot hand.
Czechia 2, Norway 1
Czechia
#10 Roman Cervenka, C: Cervenka was the hero on Day 1, and he kept the fun going with an assist on David Pastrnak’s go-ahead goal. Even at 39, Cervenka does a good job of chasing guys down and winning battles around the boards. He’s a high-IQ forward who plays with pace and is still the one making most of Czechia’s offense on the top line.
#18 Filip Zadina, RW: Zadina was a problem for the Norwegians. His line had plenty of quality chances, and while they didn’t score, their mix of speed and skill seemed to disrupt the Norwegian defense. Zadina was the catalyst and has been one of Czechia’s best players through the two games because it feels like he’s always moving the puck on the attack.
Norway
#72 Stian Solberg, D (Anaheim Ducks): Solberg was Norway’s best player by a mile in Game 1, so it was only fitting that he scored the first goal today. He used to be more defensively minded with very little offensive upside. But the big, hard-hitting blueliner got more willing to rush the puck and attack from high-danger areas as his Draft+1 season wore on. Now we’re seeing the fruits of that labor as he plays a ton of minutes a night and doesn’t seem to slow down.
#31 Jonas Arntzen, G: Arntzen was much busier than Karel Vejmelka, and he had to be. The 27-year-old probably didn’t love how any of the goals went in, but the Czechs kept him busy and it didn’t seem to faze Arntzen. I like how tracks pucks through traffic and he does a good job of getting pucks to the corner without using much energy.
Finland 4, France 3 (OT)
Finland
#20 Eeli Tolvanen, LW (Seattle Kraken): The Finns have so few offensive drivers in this tournament but Tolvanen was one of the few that seemed to have anything for the French defense. He had a few chances from far out, but he also forced Antoine Keller to make a couple of big saves early. But then, with everything on the line, the Kraken forward scored twice in the dying minutes to force overtime, before setting up the game-winner. Tolvanen hasn’t played in this tournament since posting four points in four games in 2018 – can he keep the heat going and help the Finns make some noise?
#61 Juuso Parssinen, C (New York Rangers): Parssinen has had a great tournament, and he was rewarded with the game-winning goal. There’s been a lot of “right place, right time” opportunities for him and the middle-six center managed to creep in and score all alone in overtime. He also had plenty of looks early on in the game and was engaged physically.
France
#30 Antoine Keller, G (Washington Capitals): Keller was fantastic, facing 50 shots in regulation. He made 33 saves in the first two periods alone and seemed to have little difficulty with what was being thrown on net. The 1-1 goal was a tough one because he definitely didn’t see it through traffic, ending what had been a perfect night before that. Keller is France’s goalie of the future and today’s showing was exactly what you want to see if you’re a French fan – he battles so, so hard.
#95 Kevin Bozon, LW: How about that? It took him 23 games, but he finally has his first national team goal. He’s been a prototypical energy forward throughout his whole national team career. He plays on the penalty kill, hits guys and blocks shots. He’s so quiet offensively that he had just one assist heading into today’s game, and had zero goals in 43 games with HC Ajoie in the top league in Switzerland. So when he scored, it was a big deal – and it seemed to awaken the French attack after that, who went from just one shot in the first to 12 in the second.
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