All four participating members of the Canucks will advance to the quarter-finals of the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
The preliminary round of the 2026 IIHF World Championship has officially concluded. All four members of the Vancouver Canucks and their respective teams will advance to the quarter-finals on Thursday, though only two of their teams won in today’s slate of games. Here is a recap of the Canucks’ performances at the 2026 IIHF World Championship on May 26.
USA 4, Austria 1
With their 4–1 win against Austria on Tuesday, Team USA has officially clinched a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Championship despite their less-than-stellar record. Connor Clifton (Pittsburgh Penguins), Ryan Ufko (Nashville Predators), Paul Cotter (New Jersey Devils), and Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) found the back of the net for the U.S., while Simeon Schwinger scored for Austria. Team USA will now move on to face none-other than Canada on Thursday.
Team USA’s “identity line,” featuring Canucks forward Max Sasson as well as Cotter and Mathieu Olivier (Columbus Blue Jackets), cashed in today, with Cotter scoring his team’s third goal of the game. Though he didn’t end up on the scoresheet for the U.S. today, Sasson still managed to play in 14:47 minutes of today’s victory.
Sweden 4, Slovakia 2
Sweden officially nabbed a spot in the quarter-finals with their 4–2 win against Slovakia, eliminating their opponent from contention. While Slovakia did open the scoring, goals from Anton Frondell (Chicago Blackhawks), Jakob Silfverberg, and Ivar Stenberg put Sweden on top. Marek Hrivík put one past Sweden goaltender Magnus Hellberg, though Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Toronto Maple Leafs) put one into the empty-net to seal the win for Sweden.
Linus Karlsson continued in his most recent role on Sweden’s second line alongside Jacob de la Rose and Emil Heineman (New York Islanders). He was on the ice defending against Slovakia’s empty net when Ekman-Larsson scored his team’s insurance goal and registered a total of 13:22 minutes played in Sweden’s winning effort.
Switzerland 4, Finland 2
Finland and Switzerland have been battling it out for the top spot in Group A since the beginning of the tournament, with both teams going undefeated up until today. Continuing their stretch of impressive play throughout the preliminary round, Switzerland took a 4–2 win against Finland today to become the only team throughout this year’s World Championship to win all seven of their preliminary-round games in regulation. As a result of today’s game, Finland will play Czechia during the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Finland’s winning streak wasn’t the only streak that came to an end today. Aatu Räty, who had registered a point in every game throughout the preliminary round up until today, saw his personal point streak end at six games. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was the lone player on Finland to beat Swiss goaltender Reto Berra in today’s effort. In today’s loss, Räty registered one shot on goal in 14:06 minutes played.
Canada 3, Czechia 2
Czechia wrapped up their preliminary round of the 2026 World Championship with a 3–2 loss to Canada, though they still managed to punch their ticket to the quarter-finals based on their prior victories. While Czechia did come up with a 2–0 lead by the midway point of the game, Canada scored three unanswered, including two from San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini, to ultimately take the win.
Unsurprisingly, Canucks defenceman Filip Hronek had himself yet another game in which he played the most minutes throughout his entire team (24:47). Having said that, the ice time spread between Czechia’s defencemen was a little more spread-out compared to previous games — a pattern that has become more prevalent through their recent matchups — with four of the seven dressed skating in 15+ minutes. Hronek also finished today’s game with a shot on goal.
Apr 7, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Teddy Blueger (53) and forward Linus Karlsson (94) and forward Max Sasson (63) celebrate Sasson’s goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesMay 28 Schedule:
Finland vs. Czechia - 7:20 am PT
Canada vs. USA - 7:20 am PT
Sweden vs. Switzerland - 11:20 am PT
Norway vs. Latvia - 11:20 am PT
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