Tavares finished the preliminary round with one goal and seven assists, the most of any Maple Leaf at the tournament and second on Team Canada.
The final day of the World Championship’s preliminary round was on Tuesday and if you are a Maple Leafs fan, you likely had your eyes glued to two games.
Canada took on Czechia in what was an overtime thriller. John Tavares sprung Brandon Hagel on the breakaway to put Canada up by two goals before Czechia clawed their way back late in the third period to force the extra frame.
FIRE goal by Hagel from Tavares to put Canada up by two against the Czechs with less than five minutes remaining 🚨🚨🚨#MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/0TpFtjxAc1
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 21, 2024
David Kampf returned to the lineup centering Czechia’s third line against Canada on Tuesday after missing a game due to injury. He didn’t register a point while having 13:42 of ice time. Kampf’s preliminary round ended with four assists in six games with Czechia.
Dylan Cozens scored in overtime for Canada, who’ll play Slovakia on Thursday in the quarter-finals. Tavares’ prelims concluded with one goal and seven assists in six games.
Pontus Holmberg was also in action on Tuesday as Sweden took on Slovakia. Holmberg had an assist and 17:25 of ice time while centering the second line in the Swede’s 6-1 win over the Slovaks. He finishes the preliminary round with six assists in seven games.
Martin Pospisil just went hard into the boards and was in some serious discomfort.
Left shoulder/arm was the primary point of contact.
He's one of their most important players so they'll hope he's OK. #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/a6woAh2S7h
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) May 21, 2024
What’s next for Tavares, Kampf, and Holmberg at the World Championships?
Tavares and Canada, who finished atop Group A, will take on Slovakia in the quarter-finals on Thursday with puck drop scheduled at 10:20 a.m. ET. Slovakia finished the prelims in fourth place in Group B.
Kampf and Czechia will play their quarter-final matchup against the United States on Thursday at 2:20 p.m. ET. Czechia finished third in Group A and Team USA finished second in Group B.
Holmberg and Sweden will play their Scandinavian counterpart, Finland, in the quarter-finals on Thursday at 2:20 p.m. ET. Sweden finished in the top spot in Group B while Finland’s prelims concluded with them in fourth in Group A.
The semi-finals are on Friday with the World Championship final being played on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. ET.
