Canada enters the primetime semifinal at the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship as the top-scoring team at the event. The team is averaging just under six goals per game, and put up eight on Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
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A strong complement of skilled players for the Czech Republic have combined to score 22 goals in their five contests, as the team has surprised a few clubs on its way to the medal round.
Martin Nečas is one off the tournament scoring lead, while defenceman Libor Hájek leads all blue-liners in points. A third of the Czechs’ offence has come from their power play, which is operating at 50%.
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This semifinal is a showdown between the two best man-advantage teams at the event, with Canada posting an even better 52.6% conversion rate while on the power play.
If it does come down to a special teams battle, the Czechs will need a better showing from their penalty kill, which has allowed the most goals of the 10 teams at the tournament. Maintaining the 66.7% efficiency they’ve had to this point won’t be enough to fend off the potent Canadian offence.
How to watch
Puck drop: 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST
In Canada: TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5 (English,) RDS2 (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Live stream: TSNGO
Team Canada projected lineup
CAN Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #9 Dillon Dube | #23 Sam Steel | #25 Jordan Kyrou |
| #12 Boris Katchouk | #27 Robert Thomas | #16 Taylor Raddysh |
| #11 Jonah Gadjovich | #20 Michael McLeod | #19 Drake Batherson |
| #14 Maxime Comtois | #21 Brett Howden | #24 Alex Formenton |
| #17 Tyler Steenbergen |
CAN Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #28 Victor Mete | #3 Conor Timmins |
| #10 Kale Clague | #8 Dante Fabbro |
| #2 Jake Bean | #7 Cale Makar |
| #6 Cal Foote |
CAN Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #31 Carter Hart |
| #1 Colton Point |
Team Czech Republic projected lineup
CZE Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #6 Marek Zachar | #21 Filip Chytil | #16 Martin Kaut |
| #29 Albert Michnáč | #8 Martin Nečas | #18 Filip Zadina |
| #15 Daniel Kurovský | #22 Kristian Reichel | #25 Radovan Pavlík |
| #27 Ostap Safin | #28 Petr Kodýtek | #17 Kryštof Hrabík |
| #20 Jakub Lauko |
CZE Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #19 Vojtěch Budík | #3 Libor Hájek |
| #11 Filip Král | #23 Jakub Galvas |
| #14 Ondrej Vála | #7 Radim Salda |
CZE Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #30 Josef Kořenář |
| #1 Jakub Škarek |
