Canada entered the 2017 IIHF World Championship as the favorites to win gold. Through two games, they are showing why.
On Sunday, Team Canada crushed Slovenia, winning by a score of 7-2. Leading the way offensively was a pair of Colorado Avalanche players: Tyson Barrie and Nathan MacKinnon. Barrie had four points, while MacKinnon had a hat trick.
Check it out: Nathan MacKinnon of Team Canada scores a hat trick against Slovenia! @Mackinnon9 @HockeyCanada #SLOvsCAN #iihfWorlds pic.twitter.com/aUzy8CylCo
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 7, 2017
“I thought the puck was following me around,” MacKinnon said afterwards on the tournament website. “I had a couple of greasy goals. Skins [Jeff Skinner] and G [Claude Giroux] made it easy for me out there. Marner made a nice pass to me cross-ice, and I managed to score.”
MacKinnon is currently third in tournament scoring, with four points (three goals, one assist). Barrie ranks first with six points (two goals, four assists). Duchene is also on the team, but is scoreless through two contests. Calvin Pickard has played in one game for Canada, allowing one goal.
Gabriel Landeskog has one goal and three points for Sweden. He is joined on the roster by Carl Soderberg, who has one assist. Mikko Rantanen has two goals for Finland. J.T. Compher is scoreless for Team USA through two games; as is defensive prospect Andrei Mironov, who is playing with Russia.
Photo credit: Matt Zambonin, HHOF-IIHF Images