Carter Hart and Mackenzie Blackwood combined for a 24-save shutout as Canada routed Denmark 5-0 on Monday in round-robin play at the men’s hockey world championship.
Hart started in net, making 22 saves in 50 minutes and Blackwood stopped two shots in the remaining 10 minutes of work.
Sam Reinhart had a pair of goals to help the Canadians improve to 5-1 at the international tournament. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jared McCann and Jonathan Marchessault also scored, with Mark Stone adding two assists.
“I think we are getting more and more comfortable every game, and we are all comfortable with scoring goals and chipping in offensively,” said Reinhart. “So it doesn’t matter who is (scoring the goals). As long as the guys are finding a way to contribute, whether it’s without the puck or capitalizing on an opportunity, that’s what is important.”
WATCH | Canada cruises past Denmark:
Patrick Galbraith stopped 29 shots in net for Denmark, which has a win, an overtime win, and four losses at the event.
Canada climbed to second in Group A with 15 points, one behind leading Finland and one ahead of the Unites States. After starting with a loss to Finland, the Canadians close the preliminary round against the U.S. on Tuesday. The quarter-finals are scheduled for Thursday.
Canada was 1 for 3 on the power play and the Danes could not score on their four man advantages.
“It was a good effort for us,” said Hart. “It was a pretty long game with the issues with the boards and the video reviews, but I think we did a good job of staying sharp despite those long breaks. We played hard for a full 60 minutes, and it’s always nice to get that first goal. Whenever you can get that first goal, you give yourself a good chance to win the game.”
Marchessault broke in alone on the Danish net but opted to curl behind the goal rather then shoot. After a quick dangle he passed the puck out the trailing Dubois, who snapped the puck past Galbraith for a 1-0 lead.
Captain Kyle Turris sent a back-handed pass from the corner to a streaking McCann to make it 2-0 at the 6:06 mark of the first period.
Defenceman Damon Severson sent in a long shot from the point that Marchessault deflected past Galbraith to make it 3-0 ahead of the first intermission.
Reinhart kept the scoring going in the second period, ripping a wrist shot from the left face-off dot on a partial breakaway over the shoulder of Galbraith. Reinhart added his second goal of the game early in the third period.
Canada closes out round-robin play Tuesday against the United States.
“We know we have a tough game ahead of us, so we’re going to regroup, energize ourselves and get ready for tomorrow,” said head coach Alain Vigneault.
Tournament roundup
Earlier, Dennis Rassmusen scored the winner into an empty net with 34 seconds remaining for Sweden to beat Latvia 5-4.
Latvia needed a win in regulation to keep alive hopes for a quarterfinal spot in the Group B game in Bratislava. After Roberts Bukarts tied the game for Latvia at 4-all with 3:24 remaining in the final period to complete his hat trick, the Latvians pulled the goaltender for an extra attacker.
Latvia’s loss confirmed the four quarterfinalists from Group B: Leader Russia, the two-time defending champion Swedes and the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.
Elias Pettersson, Adrian Kempe, Anton Lander and Hornqvist had a goal each for the Swedes. William Nylander had two assists to lead the scoring list with 15 points.
WATCH | Great Britain avoids relegation:
In Group A, Ben Davis scored 2:03 into overtime for Britain to complete an unlikely comeback and edge France 4-3 to avoid relegation at the expense of the French.
Britain’s return to the top division after 25 years looked short-lived after it was defeated in its previous six group games and was 3-0 down in the middle period.
The British fought back with a couple of goals from Robert Dowd and Mike Hammond still in the second frame. Robert Farmer tied it in the final frame, forcing overtime.
In Group B, newcomer Italy survived among the top teams after prevailing over Austria 4-3 in a penalty shootout. Austria is relegated.