NEWSLETTER
The playoffs at the World Championship began on Thursday, and all five Blackhawks were on teams that qualified. Unfortunately, not all of them were able to move on.
Sweden and Erik Gustafsson (now a former Blackhawk?) lost their game and were eliminated.
Germany lost their first playoff game, ending their tournament. Blackhawks forward prospect Lukas Reichel performed well after joining the team. He posted five points (two goals, three assists) in four games at the tournament and looked solid in the faceoff circle, as well.
The United States played the Swiss in the afternoon game, meaning three Blackhawks — Seth Jones and Sam Lafferty for the US and Philipp Kurashev for the Swiss — were facing each other. The United States prevailed, meaning Kurashev’s tournament has also come to a close.
Kurashev had one goal and three assists in eight games in the tournament, averaging just over 12 minutes per game.
Jones is leading all skaters in average ice time in the tournament at better than 25 minutes per game. Lafferty is skating almost 15 minutes per night and has one goal and one assist thus far in the tournament. With the United States down to five healthy defensemen on Thursday, Lafferty saw time on the blue line and performed well.
Canada and Czechia advanced to the semifinals in the early games. The United States and Finland advanced in the later games.
The semifinals will be played on Saturday, with the medal games on Sunday.
