Ryan O’Reilly and Johan Larsson are representing their countries at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, which is being held in Denmark throughout the month of May.
By Jourdon LaBarber / Sabres.com
Thursday, May 10
NOR 0 – CAN 5
O’Reilly skated 12:39 and was a plus-2 in Canada’s 5-0 win over Norway. Connor McDavid recorded a hat trick and Bo Horvat tallied twice for Canada.
The Canadians are now winners of three straight following their tournament-opening shootout loss to Team USA.
Both Canada and Sweden will be back in action on Saturday. Sweden has the early game against Slovakia at 6:15 am ET while Canada takes on Finland at 2:15 pm.
Wednesday, May 9
SWE 7 – AUT 0
Larsson tallied an assist for his first point of the tournament in Sweden’s 7-0 win over Austria on Wednesday. Sweden remains undefeated with four regulation wins in four games, giving the country sole possession of first place in the Group A standings.
The Swedes already led by six goals by the time Larsson fed Magnus Paajarvi to cap the scoring with 6:11 remaining. Larsson also tallied one shot in 13:47.
Rickard Rakell (2+1) and Mattias Janmark (1+2) scored three points each for Sweden, which has shut out three of its first four opponents in the preliminary round.
Sweden continues its tournament against Slovakia on Friday. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:15 am.
Monday, May 7
CAN 7 – DEN 1
O’Reilly scored his third goal in three games to help lead Canada to a 7-1 win over host country Denmark on Monday. Canada has now won back-to-back games after losing its tournament opener against the United States in a shootout last Thursday.
O’Reilly’s three goals place him in a tie with forward Tyson Jost for the Canadian lead. His latest was the product of a strong feed from Josh Bailey, who squeezed the puck between two defenders to find O’Reilly alone in front of the net. The Sabres’ alternate captain flipped the puck in off his backhand.
Canada also received goals from Jost, Bailey, Aaron Ekblad, Jordan Eberle and a pair from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Canada returns to action against Norway on Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:15 p.m.
SWE 4 – FRA 0
Larsson and Sweden skated to a 4-0 victory over France on Monday, joining Russia as the only two teams with regulation wins in each of their first three contests. Sweden has outscored its opponents 12-2, the second-best differential in Group A.
Larsson recorded two shots in 14:04. Rickard Rakell, Mikael Backlund, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Elias Pettersson scored goals for Sweden.
Sweden continues its tournament against Austria on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m.
Sunday, May 6
CAN 10 – KOR 0
O’Reilly scored his second goal in as many games as Canada earned its first win of the tournament in convincing fashion, a 10-0 blowout against Korea on Sunday morning. O’Reilly’s goal was one of six scored by the Canadians in the second period.
Matthew Barzal of the New York Islanders earned the assist on the goal, finding O’Reilly alone to the right of the net. O’Reilly picked the far-side corner off his backhand.
O’Reilly finished the game with two shots in 14:19.
Canada continues its tournament against Denmark on Monday. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:15 pm.
SWE 3 – CZE 2
After leaving the tournament opener with an apparent injury on Friday, Larsson was back on the ice for Sweden in its 3-2 win over the Czech Republic on Sunday. The forward recorded one shot on goal in 15:02.
Mattias Janmark, Rickard Rakell and Mika Zibanejad scored goals for Sweden, which earned its second win of the tournament.
Larsson and Sweden return to action against France on Monday. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:15 p.m.
Friday, May 4
USA 5 – CAN 4 (SO)
O’Reilly began his bid for a third gold medal with a first-period goal, but Canada ultimately fell in a shootout, 5-4, in their World Championship opener against the United States on Friday morning. O’Reilly’s goal, scored off a rebound, gave the Canadians an early 2-0 lead.
Pierre Luc-Dubois, Anthony Beauvillier and Colton Parayko also scored for Canada. Cam Atkinson scored twice for the U.S. in the five-round shootout.
O’Reilly, an alternate captain for the third-straight year, led all skaters with eight shots. He’s scored a combined 35 points (13+22) over 45 games in five prior tournaments, including a pair of gold medal-winning runs in 2015 and 2016. He scored six goals and three assists en route to silver last year.
O’Reilly and the Canadians will try again for their first win against Korea at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday.
SWE 5 – BEL 0
Larsson was held without a shot in 6:44 in Sweden’s 5-0 win over Belarus. Sweden was led by a three-point night (1+2) from Rickard Rakell, while Mattias Janmark, Mika Zibanejad, Gustav Nyquist and Lias Andersson also scored goals. Anders Nilsson made 27 saves for the shutout.
Sweden continues its tournament against the Czech Republic on Sunday. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:15 am.