It didn’t look too great, but Canada gutted out the win today after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jonathan Huberdeau scored in the shootout.
Another parade to the penalty box for Canada today, including two 5-on-3 powerplays for Sweden, but Canada’s penalty killing was quite a bit better than on Thursday, as was the goaltending.
Jordan Binnington was noticeably more comfortable in net than Malcolm Subban yesterday, and he may have locked down the top spot going into the tournament with a solid performance.
Not content to play a game without some controversy, Canada faces a shorthanded roster going forward after Boone Jenner laid a very late hit and broke the ribs of a Swedish player. He was ejected from the game and Sweden was given a 5 minute powerplay. Jenner has a record in the World Juniors after spearing Evgeni Kuznetzov last year and being suspended for the bronze medal game, so expect a suspension.
Draft eligible players Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon were explosive whenever they were on the ice today, which could bode very well for Canada during the tournament with the top line guys slumping a little bit. Drouin scored the tying goal for Canada on a play that probably should have been called dead after a hand pass.
For Sweden, their only tally was set up by none other than Canadiens prospect Sebastian Collberg. Collberg was strong on the puck all day and making great plays. He has a great shot, but needs to shoot a bit more.
Next up for Canada is the first game of the tournament against Germany at 4:30AM EST on Boxing Day on TSN.
