WJC GDB 2.0: Canada set for clash with Slovakia

Canada came away with the victory last night over Latvia, winning 5-2, and looks to remain perfect when they take on Slovakia tonight at Rogers Place.

Slovakia lost heartbreakingly in their tournament opener to Czechia. It was a back-and-forth contest with nine goals scored, but unfortunately for the Slovakians, they were on the wrong end, falling 5-4. Matej Kaslik thought he was the hero when he tied the game at 4-4 with just over three minutes to play in the third period. However, Gabriel Szturc prevent the hope of an overtime point by scoring with 1:50 left to give Czechia the win.

The Canadians hope they shook off the rust last night, and they cannot underestimate the Slovakian’s ability. While they may be without Simon Nemec and Juraj Slafkovský, they’re a team that battles until the end and has great resilience. Canada can’t be caught sleeping tonight.

While Canada might’ve been rusty in areas, they still came away with the victory. Connor Bedard scored the first for Canada, his lone game point. In yesterday’s preview, my not-so-obvious prediction was that two Canadian defencemen would score a goal, Olen Zellweger and Donovan Sebrango. The prediction almost came true with Zellweger scoring one and Lukas Cormier grabbing the other from the blue line. Ridly Greig and William Dufour completed the scoring for Canada.

Canada and Slovakia last met at the 2021 World Juniors in Edmonton & Red Deer in the preliminary round. The Canadians came away with a 3-1 victory with goals from Jack Quinn, Philip Tomasino, and Jordan Spence. They’ll be hoping for more of the same tonight at Rogers Place.

No lineups have been posted yet, but we’ll update them here when they become available.

GAME DAY PREDICTION: Canada shook off the rust last night, so tonight, I expect a comfortable win. We’ll go with another 5-2 victory for the Canadians.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Canada gets a 3-0 lead early in the second period, with Connor Bedard and Mason McTavish connecting on at least one of them.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: The other star on the Canada top line, Joshua Roy scores twice in the game.

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