Quarterfinal 6-3 Victory Advances Canada To Tournament Semifinals
Seattle Kraken scored the first and fifth goals for Team Canada Thursday in their 6-3 quarterfinal win over Team Slovakia at the IIHF World Championship in Czechia.
Kraken winger Jared McCann opened the scoring 2:45 into the game, his third goal for Canada.
By the way, if Canada reaches the championship game on May 26, that would be a nice advance birthday present for McCann. He turns 28 on May 31.
At 8:40 of the 3rd period, Kraken winger Brandon Tanev's insurance goal gave Canada a 5-1 lead. He's in that "greasy" area in front of the net to pot a rebound.
That insurance proved most welcome, as Slovakia closed the gap to 5-3 before an empty-netter sealed the win.
Tanev has three goals, four points, and a +6 for the tournament, in which Canada improved its record to a perfect 8-0. Look close below and you'll see Brandon (13) and Jared (19) in the postgame celebration.
Tournament Over For Tatar, Grubauer
The Slovakia loss to Canada marks the end of the tournament for 2023-24 Kraken forward Tomas Tatar, who was held without a point on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer and Team Germany were eliminated by Team Switzerland 3-1 in their quarterfinal matchup. Grubauer played well, stopping 22 of 24 Swiss shots (the clinching goal was scored into an empty net ).
Look quick and you'll see the goaltender at the bench after the game.
Canada and Switzerland will meet in a semifinal game on Saturday.
Editor's Note: Later today, we'll report on how Andre Burakovsky and Team Sweden did in their quarterfinal against Team Finland. That game began at 11:20 am Seattle time on Thursday.