Canada Wins Group A With 8-0 Win Over Denmark

Canada has won Group A after a dominating 8-0 performance against Denmark on Saturday.

Coming off of a physically demanding outdoor game against the United States, it didn’t take much time for Canada to put themselves on the scoresheet first. Robert Thomas would get the game’s first goal at 3:52 when a fanned pass by Taylor Raddysh still managed to find Thomas' stick, with the St. Louis Blues prospect scoring from a strange angle to the right of Emil Gransoe to make it 1-0 for Canada.

Canada's effort wasn't at 100% in the first period. The team just needed to win to grab the win in Group A, meaning scoring 10 goals wasn’t on their agenda. At 17:21, they were rewarded for their good puck possession, with Brett Howden touching the puck last in a scramble that included Maxime Comtois and Cal Foote, backhanding it over Gransoe to give Canada the 2-0 lead.

With 20.4 seconds left, Sam Steel made it 3-0. It was another scramble, with a shot from Kale Clague finding its way into the crease before Steel jammed it home to end the opening frame.

At 7:52 on the power play, Cale Makar would make it 4-0. Defence partner Jake Bean got the play started when he moved the puck around the zone, looking for a proper recipient. Makar was that man, sniping a wrist shot from the high slot to extend Canada’s lead further.

About a minute and a half later, Howden had his second of the night. He didn't have to do much on the second one either, with Cal Foote's shot getting tipped just in front of the net to make it 5-0 for the reigning silver-medalists.

Canada wasn't done laying on the pressure. Early in the third, Conor Timmins made a great breakout pass to Alex Formenton, who beat Gransoe on the breakaway to make it 6-0. New Jersey Devils prospect Mikey McLeod sniped one to become the 12th Canadian forward to score in the tournament, leaving just Tyler Steenbergen as the lone Canadian forward without a goal. Drake Batherson scored on the power play with eight minutes to go and Canada didn't pour on the offence afterwards, capping off Canada's 8-0 victory and giving them first place in Group A.

Canada will wait to figure out their opponent for the quarterfinals later tomorrow when the round robin comes to an end. Denmark still has a game to go, Denmark will hope to secure a victory against Slovakia on Sunday, with a win keeping them out of the regulation round as it would act as the tiebreaker over the Slovaks.

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Photo from Anders Marshall/Euro Hockey