Johan Davidsson scored two goals and added two assists on Saturday as defending world and Olympic champion Sweden routed Italy 7-1 in its first game at the Hockey World Championship.
After a slow start, Sweden took control in the second period with four goals in six minutes to take a 6-1 lead in the Group A game.
In Mytischi, St. Louis Blues forward Jamal Mayers scored the winning goal as Canada beat Germany 3-2 in its first game of the tournament.
PHOTO: AP
Playing without the NHL stars that led the team to the title last year, Sweden looked shaky early on.
Goaltender Johan Backlund gave up a generous rebound that Giorgio de Bettin fired in from a sharp angle at 3:06 of the first period to give Italy a surprise 1-0 lead.
Sweden then had a 5-on-3 power play halfway through the period but couldn't capitalize.
However, Italy's lead didn't last long.
Davidsson got the Olympic gold medalists on the scoreboard with a superb individual effort at 15:31 in the first period.
After picking up a loose puck at his own end, Davidsson skated passed several defenders and rifled a low shot past Italy goaltender Andrea Carpano to tie the game.
"We were a bit off our game at first," Davidsson said. "But we knew that if we just kept playing our system we would be OK. It was good that we went into the first break up 2-1 instead of down 1-0."
Playing with a man advantage, Fredrik Emvall deflected a shot from the point by Dick Tarnstrom at 17:19 to give Sweden a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
The second period belonged to Sweden.
Tony Martensson started the four-goal onslaught when he picked up a rebound at the side of the net and tucked the puck past Carpano.
Fredrik Bremberg gave Sweden a 4-1 lead, taking a perfect pass from Davidsson and scoring on a slapshot from the edge of the faceoff circle. Davidsson scored his second goal of the night at 8:43 as Sweden went up 5-1.
Jonathan Hedstrom completed the scoring in the second period with a goal at 9:53 on a two-man breakaway.
Alex Steen of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the only NHL player currently on Sweden's roster.
Without the likes of Henrik Zetterberg, Michael Nylander and Niklas Kronwall, who all played on last year's world championship team, Sweden will need players like Davidsson, Emvall and young star Nicklas Backstrom to step forward.
Daviddson also assisted on Per Hallberg's goal in the third.
Also in Group A, Sandy Jeannin scored the winning goal in the last minute of the second period to lift Switzerland to a 2-1 win over Latvia.
Canada took advantage of some sloppy play by Germany goaltender Dimitri Kotschnew to score the winning goal.
Nick Schultz of the Minnesota Wild blew a good chance in the fifth minute of the final period when he opted for a forehand shot rather than a backhand and missed the open goal.
But when Kotschnew muffed the puck behind his own net, Jason Chimera stole the puck from the goalie and passed it out front to Mayers, who scored into the wide-open net at 11:42.
"I don't think he'd seen me come up behind him," Chimera said. "I think I caught him off guard. I was at the right place at the right time."
Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber was ejected just 1:19 into the Group C game for elbowing forward Yannic Seidenberg in the chin.
Initially, there was no call, but as Seidenberg struggled to get up, pitching over repeatedly, Weber was slapped with a five-minute major and game misconduct. Seidenberg suffered a suspected concussion.
Also in Group C, Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves to lead Slovakia to a 3-0 shutout of Norway.
Marek Uram opened the scoring 12 minutes into the first period, with Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara doubling the team's advantage just 51 seconds later.
The Norwegians became visibly frustrated in the second period, clocking 10 minutes in the penalty box as the Slovaks kept their spotless record intact.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS