After a Saturday schedule that saw Columbus Blue Jackets‘ prospect Oliver Bjorkstrand earn Best Player honors for Denmark in a loss to Sweden, Slovakia’s upset of Finland and Canada’s second shutout, the World Juniors scale back a bit on Sunday, with just two offerings.
Here’s a look at today’s schedule:
Switzerland vs. Russia – 5:00pm ET (Toronto)
United States vs. Germany – 8:00pm ET (Montreal)
Switzerland will come into tomorrow’s contest with significant momentum after a 5 – 2 thrashing of the Czech Republic on Saturday. Kevin Fiala will look to build on his two-goal performance against Russia, a club coming off a scary 3 – 2 shootout victory over Denmark. The Danes had a 2 – 0 lead in that one before Russia found its legs. Switzerland will likely not be as generous if they get the early lead. This should be a good one.
The United States, on paper, should have little trouble against a German team that was blanked by Canada on Saturday evening, giving Germany the distinction of the most horrific back-to-back match-up in the tournament. The butterflies should be gone from the American stomachs, and look for Jack Eichel, Alex Tuch and Columbus prospect Sonny Milano to have big nights. After some early nerves, U.S. netminder Thatcher Demko settled in nicely against Finland, and should have less trouble against Germany.
NHL Network will broadcast all Team USA games in the States, while TSN has full coverage in Canada. NHL.com will also stream the Team USA games.