Canada vs. Germany
How to watch
Puck drop: 9:00 AM EST / 6:00 AM PST
In Canada: TSN1, TSN4, TSN5 (English,) RDS (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Live stream: TSN Direct, RDS Direct
After a great effort on Boxing Day to overcome a deficit to Team USA, Canada responded with a dismal effort versus Russia on Saturday. They fell by a 6-0 score, the largest margin in a loss the country has seen in the 40-plus years of the event.
Adding injury to the insult, the team’s top player, projected 2020 first overall pick Alexis Lafrenière, twisted his knee awkwardly in a collision with Russia’s goaltender, and had to be helped off the ice. Surprisingly, the news is good in his case, and he may even return at some point before the final. It is unlikely that that return will come today, however, so Montreal will need to scoring from other areas of the lineup.
The answer won’t be Joe Veleno, either, as he has been suspended for this game after a head butt in Saturday’s match. Canada therefore only has 11 forwards at their disposal, so it’s possible we could see seventh defenceman taking some shifts on the wing to keep everyone fresh for the final game on Tuesday.
Germany is holding its own in group-stage play, getting great performances from the nation’s top players to not only hang with teams, but to get them a win versus the Czech Republic. Getting one of their final two games to overtime may be enough to seal a spot in the quarter-finals and avoid the relegation round, ensuring their stay in the Top Division for at least another year.
Expect to see a lot more of defenceman Moritz Seider in the game, as he’s averaging 26 minutes through two games. He has four points to his name, and is the only blue-liner to contribute to the offence at this point.
Team Canada projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #17 Connor McMichael | #27 Barrett Hayton | #29 Nolan Foote |
| #19 Quinton Byfield | #18 Ty Dellandrea | #20 Dawson Mercer |
| #8 Liam Foudy | #16 Akil Thomas | #22 Dylan Cozens |
| #10 Raphael Lavoie | #25 Aidan Dudas |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #14 Jared McIsaac | #24 Ty Smith |
| #4 Bowen Byram | #5 Jacob Bernard-Docker |
| #2 Kevin Bahl | #3 Calen Addison |
| #6 Jamie Drysdale |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #31 Olivier Rodrigue |
| #30 Joel Hofer |
Injured: Alexis Lafrenière
Suspended: Joe Veleno
Team Germany projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #24 John-Jason Peterka | #10 Justin Schütz | #8 Tim Stützle |
| #26 Dominik Bokk | #18 Taro Jentzsch | #23 Lukas Reichel |
| #19 Dennis Lobach | #12 Luis Schinko | #16 Nino Kinder |
| #11 Jan Nijenhuis | #22 Yannik Valenti | #13 Tim Fleischer |
| #14 Louis Brune |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #28 Eric Mik | #21 Moritz Seider |
| #7 Leon Hüttl | #5 Daniel Wirt |
| #27 Alexander Dersch | #25 Philipp Mass |
| #6 Niklas Heinzinger |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #1 Hendrik Hane |
| #29 Tobias Ancicka |
