NEWSLETTER
We are a week into the IIHF World Championships and a number of teams have stepped up in surprising fashion with every team having played four games. The top four teams in each group make the elimination round and if the elimination round were to start today, six of the nine Blackhawks players and prospects at the tournament would be moving on.
Two of those six were in action today as Dominik Kubalík and the Czech Republic faced Sweden and Philipp Kurashev and Switzerland took on Slovakia.
Switzerland def. Slovakia, 8-1
Following a 7-0 loss to Sweden, the Swiss needed a big response against Slovakia and did they ever get it. In an 8-1 drubbing to hand Slovakia their first loss of the tournament, Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev tallied two points in the third period starting with an assist on the 5-0 goal scored by Timo Meier.
Philipp Kurashev helps setup the 5-0 goal for the Swiss #IIHFWorlds #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Jvp7B0YsYW
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 27, 2021
Kurashev followed up the assist with his first goal in the tournament to extend Switzerland’s lead in the third period to 6-0.
Philipp Kurashev nets his 1st goal of the #IIHFWorlds! His 2nd point of the period as Switzerland leads 6-1#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/0uee8rojlX
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 27, 2021
Kurashev now has three points in four games for Switzerland. They are next in action on Saturday taking on Blackhawks Nikita Zadorov and Max Shalunov with the Russians. Russia, Switzerland, and Slovakia are all tied atop Group A with nine points in the standings each.
Czech Republic def. Sweden, 4-2
In afternoon action, the Czech Republic turned a 2-0 deficit in the third period into a 4-2 win over Sweden thanks in part to Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalík. The Czechs scored three goals over an eight-minute span to take the lead for good over the Swedes with Kubalík notching a secondary assist on the game-tying goal.
Bang-Bang!💥 Two powerplay goals for @narodnitym and we're even. #SWECZE #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/vdi6VtgNv5
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 27, 2021
Looking to close the game out late in the third period, Kubalik nearly netted the insurance goal on an empty-net chance, but the play was finished off by Jakub Flek to seal thew 4-2 win.
https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1397997682262646785?s=20
Kubalik is tied with Jan Kovar with five points in four games each to lead the Czech Republic in scoring at the tournament. The Czechs are back in action on Saturday as they take on Great Britain. Both teams are tied for fourth-place in Group A with five points in the standings with the Czech Republic holding the tiebreaker. Kubalik is tied with Lukas Reichel with five points in the tournament to lead all Blackhawks players/prospects in scoring.
2600 fans will be allowed at Arena Riga (the larger arena where Latvia is playing), just over 1,000 allowed at the smaller Olympic Sports Centre. https://t.co/DrHRlkXozB
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) May 27, 2021
Some good news coming out of Thursday afternoon in Latvia was the opportunity for fans to start coming to games at the tournament starting on June 1st. The final day of the preliminary round will have 2,600 fans at Arena Riga, where the Gold Medal Final will be held and 1,000 fans at the smaller Olympic Sports Centre, according to TSN’s Gord Miller.
