Jack Eichel tallies 10 shots in the 2-1 loss to Germany at the World Championship.
By Jourdon LaBarber / Sabres.com
Buffalo Sabre Ryan O’Reilly and Team Canada kicked off their quest for a third-straight gold medal at the IIHF World Championship with a 4-1 win over the Czech Republic on Friday, and it was O’Reilly who got things going early in the contest.
The Sabres’ alternate captain netted the first goal of the tournament for Canada a mere 6:09 into the game. Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele won a race to the puck along the end boards and quickly fed an oncoming O’Reilly, who shot across the body of Czech goalie Petr Mrazek.
O’Reilly skated 19:26 of ice time on a line Scheifele with Jeff Skinner.
Mike Matheson, Tyson Barrie and Skinner also scored goals for Canada.
Germany 2 – USA 1
Patrick Hager scored with a tip from the high slot on the power play to break a 1-1 tie with 6:02 remaining in the third period, which stood as the game-winning goal in Germany’s tournament-opening 2-1 victory over Jack Eichel and the United States.
Team USA finished with a 43-27 advantage in the shot column, but were unable to solve German goalie Thomas Greiss until Connor Murphy’s game-tying goal with 9:00 remaining in the third period.
The line of Eichel, Anders Lee and Johnny Gaudreau generated scoring chances from beginning to end, but they never found the back of the net. Gaudreau was stopped on a breakaway on the first shift of the game, while Lee’s put-back of an Eichel shot was cleared off the goal line with the game tied in the third.
The trio combined for 22 shots, including a game-high 10 from Eichel in 22:01 of ice time.
Up next
Zemgus Girgensons and Latvia will kick off their tournament against Denmark on Saturday, with puck drop slated for 6:15 a.m. EST.
Team USA and Canada, meanwhile, both return to action early on Sunday. Canada will play Slovenia at 6:15 a.m. and the U.S. will face Denmark at 10:15 a.m. Both games can be seen live on NHL Network, or you can stream USA-Denmark on nbcsports.com/live.