2019 World Junior Hockey Championship schedule: December 31, 2018
Group positioning is the order of the day in the final round robin games.
Group A Preliminary Games
4 PM ET: Czech Republic vs Denmark
The Czech Republic will look to bounce back from losses to Canada and Russia against Denmark and enter the quarterfinal on a high note. A win for the Czechs in this one will mean they avoid Sweden in the quarterfinal, which is a pretty good incentive. For Denmark, a regulation win will see them avoid the relegation round and a likely matchup with Kazakhstan. The game will be shown on TSN 1/3/4/5 and RDS in Canada and NHL Network in the USA.
8 PM ET: Canada vs Russia
While top spot in the group is typically important, it’s increasingly important this year for these two teams. The winner of this game will get Slovakia, while the loser of this game will get Finland or the United States. That’s a significant difference and could affect either team’s chances of winning a medal. Canada will be without Jared McIsaac, who is suspended for one game. Russia had a scare against Switzerland, and will look to bounce back. The game will be on TSN 1/4 and RDS2 in Canada and NHL Network in the United States.
Group B Preliminary Games
6:30 PM ET: Kazakhstan vs Sweden
The only thing standing between Sweden and a 48th straight round robin victory at the World Juniors is Kazakhstan, who is coming off of a big loss to Slovakia yesterday and is set for the relegation round. Sweden bounced back after a bit of a lull against the United States to get the win in overtime and this should be an easy tune up game for the quarterfinal. The game will be available on TSN.ca
10:30 PM ET: Finland vs United States
If group positioning is important for the winner of Canada/Russia, it is equally important for the winner of this game. The winner of this game will likely play the Czech Republic, while the loser gets either Canada or Russia. For two teams with medal aspirations, that would be a huge blow to that team. Neither Finland or the United States has played up to expectations as of yet, and this will be the first step for redemption for one of these two teams. The game will be on TSN 1/5 in Canada, NHL Network in the US.
All games shown on TSN will be streamed on TSN Go in Canada, but it requires a subscription to TSN.