
The Montreal Canadiens will have four representatives at the quarterfinals of the 2024 IIHF World Championship.
The preliminary round of the 2024 IIHF World Championship wrapped up on Tuesday with all five Montreal Canadiens representatives in action.
Vinzenz Rohrer was blanked as Austria lost to Great Britain 4-2 in Prague. The forward took two shots on goal in 9:02 of ice time. He ended the tournament with two points, minus-5 rating in seven games.
Canada and Czechia were scoreless through 40 minutes before the floodgates opened in the third period with six goals on the board. The winner was determined in overtime as Dylan Cozens broke the tie to give Canada the 4-3 victory. Kaiden Guhle finished the contest with plus-2 rating in a team leading 21:23 of ice time.
Cole Caufield participated in four of his country's goals in the United States 6-3 win against Latvia. After obtaining two assists in the first period, Caufield accepted a pass in the slot from Matt Boldy and the Canadiens forward beat Kristers Gudlevskis for a power play goal.
In the third period, Caufield increased the lead to two goals when he skated with the puck from behind the net to the slot and lodge the puck top corner for his fourth of the tournament.
Oliver Kapanen was held off the scoresheet in Finland's 3-1 loss against Switzerland in Prague. The 20-year old played 13:19, took one shot on goal, minus-2 rating, and had 80 percent success rate at faceoffs.
Juraj Slafkovsky added another assist to his statistics in a losing cause as Sweden dominated Slovakia 6-1. The 6-foot-3-inches forward began a tic-tac-toe sequence with former Canadien Tomas Tatar that led to a goal by Michal Ivan. Slafkovsky led the team with 22:02 of ice time and shot twice on goal.
Four Montreal Canadiens representatives move on to Thursday's quarterfinals with their respective countries. At Prague, Guhle and Slafkovsky go head-to-head as Canada faces Slovakia at 10:20 am. Eastern time. At 2:20 pm. Eastern, United States with Cole Caufield take on Czechia, while Finland and Oliver Kapanen are up against Sweden.
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