Blues goalie makes 19 saves, defenseman adds assist in quarterfinal victory; USA falls to host Czechia 1-0, sending Hayes, Kessel home
Jordan Binnington and Colton Parayko will have a chance to medal, and the St. Louis Blues players kept Canada's defense of a gold medal alive with a 6-3 win against Slovakia at the 2024 IIHF World Championship at Prague Arena in Prague, Czechia on Thursday.
Binnington, who was again backed up by Blues teammate Joel Hofer, made 19 saves, and Parayko had an assist, was a plus-3 and played a team-high 21:02, helping Canada advance to the semifinals and a rematch with Switzerland, which disposed of a stubborn Germany, 3-1.
Canada slipped past Switzerland 3-2 last Sunday in Group A play.
Canada, which was led by two goals and an assist by Nick Paul (Tampa Bay Lightning), outshot Slovakia 43-21 for the game.
And on the USA side, Blues forward Kevin Hayes and defenseman Matthew Kessel are coming home after falling to host Czechia, 1-0, in the second quarterfinal game played at Prague Arena.
The lone goal was scored by Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins), a power-play goal at 6:39 of the second period against former Blues goalie Charlie Lindgren, who joined USA after the Washington Capitals were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hayes had two shots on goal in 11:37 and finished the tournament with one goal in eight games. Kessel was a healthy scratch for the sixth time in eight games.
St. Louisan Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators) tied a team-high with six shots on goal in 19:37 ice time.
In the first semifinal, it will be Sweden, a 2-1 overtime winner against Finland in the quarterfinals, against host Czechia at 7:20 a.m. (CT) on Saturday, followed by Canada and Switzerland at 11:20 a.m., each game at Prague Arena.
