World Cup of Hockey Saturday Sept 17 Round-Up

TEAM CANADA CRUISES PAST TEAM CZECH REPUBLIC

The line of Sidney Crosby (1-2—3, +4), Brad Marchand (1-2—3, +3) and Patrice Bergeron (1-0—1, +2) combined for 3-4—7 and a +9 rating to propel Team Canada past Team Czech Republic in its tournament opener.

Carey Price turned aside 27 shots to record the shutout. He has not allowed a goal in his last 224:19 of international play dating to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, when he backstopped Canada to the gold medal in Sochi, Russia (5-0, 0.59 GAA, .972 SV%, 2 SO).

Team Canada outshot Team Czech Republic, 50-27, the second-most shots on goal by one team in one game in World Cup of Hockey history:

• 56 – Czech Republic, Sept. 3, 2004, at Prague. Czech Republic 7, Germany 2 (RR)
• 50 – Canada, Sept. 17, 2016, at Toronto. Canada 6, Czech Republic 0 (RR)
• 48 – Sweden, Aug. 26, 1996, at Stockholm. Sweden 6, Germany 1 (RR)

HALAK, TEAM EUROPE STUN TEAM USA IN TOURNAMENT DEBUT

Jaroslav Halak stopped all 35 shots he faced, including 17 in the third period, to guide Team Europe past Team USA in its World Cup of Hockey debut.

Team Europe – a pan-European roster of players from birth countries outside of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden – features players from eight countries: Germany and Slovakia (6 apiece); Switzerland (4); Denmark (3); and Austria, France, Norway and Slovenia (1 apiece). The combined record of those countries in 17 prior World Cup of Hockey/Canada Cup games was 1-15-1 (West Germany/Germany: 1-9-1, Slovakia: 0-6-0).

Halak, who missed the final month of the 2015-16 NHL season (as well as the playoffs) due to injury, recorded the most saves in a shutout win in World Cup of Hockey history. The previous high was 29, set by Miikka Kiprusoff of Finland in a 3-0 win over Germany on Sept. 2, 2004, in Cologne, Germany.

Marian Gaborik (Slovakia), Leon Draisaitl (Germany) and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (France) accounted for Team Europe’s three goals. Draisaitl’s father, Peter, led Germany with 1-4—5 in four games during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
TEAM EUROPE 3, Team USA 0
TEAM CANADA 6, Team Czech Republic 0

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Team Sweden @ Team Russia, 3 p.m.
Team North America @ Team Finland, 8 p.m.