That’s eight days in the books – and things are about to get interesting this weekend.
Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark came out victorious on Friday at the 2025 World Championship, with Sweden holding on to top spot in Group A with a perfect 5-0-0-0 record. Canada, Finland and Slovakia also hold playoff spots, with Canada sitting with a perfect record just like the Swedes.
Switzerland, meanwhile, is first in Group B with its fourth win of the tournament. Czechia, Germany, and the USA hold the other playoff spots for now.
Hungary found themselves with some false hope against the Danish hosts. They scored two goals early and ended up chasing Sebastian Dahm from the net. But Denmark recovered and scored eight straight goals to win the game 8-2, giving the Danes some life in Group B.
Austria, meanwhile, has been one of the talks of the tournament. They’ve been so close in just about every game, but were still seeking their first round-robin victory. They got that today, beating France 5-2 to keep themselves alive in the playoff round conversation.
In the evening, Sweden had a much tougher time against Slovenia than they first expected. It took 25 minutes for the first goal to go in, with Lukas Horak putting on a clinic in the Slovenian net. Sweden eventually won the game 4-0 thanks to a three-goal effort from Elias Lindholm.
Switzerland was in full control of their game against Norway. The Swiss showed their muscle yesterday with a 5-1 win over Germany, and they had a perfect showing against Norway in a 3-0 victory to close out Group A action on Friday.
Here’s a look at the top standouts from the four games today:
Austria 5, France 2
Austria
#96 Marco Kasper, C (Detroit Red Wings): Another day, another game in which Kasper was a shining star. He scored 39 seconds into the game to give Austria some much-needed momentum and added a late one, too. Austria played yesterday, but it didn’t seem to slow Kasper’s pace down as he chased all over the ice and created some quality chances. Kasper won’t win MVP honors, but if Austria makes it to the playoffs, he’ll be one of the biggest reasons why. He’s been fast, skilled and aggressive on the attack and has shown every reason why Red Wings fans love him.
#7 Brian Lebler, D: Lebler helped create the 2-0 goal, and nearly scored one late on a great rush. The offensive defenseman didn’t actually register a shot but he did a good job of getting in front of scoring lanes and setting players up on the rush. He only played 14:09 but I thought he was effective.
#30 David Kickert, G: Goaltending was always going to be important in this game and Kickert was the best of the three. He has quick reactions, especially down low. Kickert also does a good job of looking through traffic and reacting accordingly. Kickert has been one of the best goaltenders in this tournament – one where Austria has shown a ton of muscle, no matter the opponent.
#19 Vinzenz Rohrer, RW (Montreal Canadiens): Rohrer had an even better game than yesterday when he scored against Canada. He scored again today to make it 2-0, and then had a penalty shot and created two breakaways. It was an eventful game for the Canadiens’ draft pick, who was named player of the game after registering two points.
France
#41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, C: Bellemare built a 10-year NHL career based on hard work and that was on display today. He scored a goal and added an assist, and neither play came easy. Even at 40 years old, Bellemare gives it his all every shift. He’s up to four points in five games this year, which is one of his most impressive runs to date.
#94 Tim Bozon, RW: Bozon led the way with five shots today, and while he couldn’t beat Kickert, he came close a few times. Bozon scored a big goal against France and has seemingly been one of the team’s better players ever since. France’s top line doesn’t have a ton of skill – it’s three guys known more for their defensive work. But Bozon is the best with the puck of the three and it feels like he should have gotten at least one goal today.
Denmark 8, Hungary 2
Denmark
#80 Frederik Dichow, G: Sebastian Dahm allowed two early goals for Denmark, resulting in Dichow coming in to play the rest of the way. He was great, and the Danes used their newfound confidence to get back into the game and tie it early in the second period. Dichow has been one of Denmark’s best players, tracking shots well and handling pressure with ease.
#95 Nick Olesen, RW: Olesen has had a mega tournament for the Danes, and he is now sitting at seven points in five games. He has now registered two points in each of the past three games, including today. He loves the power play, and does a great job of getting cross-ice passes in the offensive zone. This is his fifth World Championship and it’s already his most productive.
#22 Markus Lauridsen, D: Lauridsen is in his 11th World Championship but today was one of his most impressive games thus far. The 34-year-old had two goals and an assist to finish as Denmark’s most productive defender. He also had five shots as he was kept busy while also playing 23:43 – the most TOI he has had this year.
#12 Oscar Fisker Molgaard, C (Seattle Kraken): The smart, two-way center had three assists for his best men’s national team experience to date. I like how much more involved he is in the offensive zone than many would have expected. Denmark doesn’t have many playdrivers, but Molgaard has done a much better job at trying to get the puck into the zone and into a high-danger area.
#29 Mikkel Aagaard, LW: It’s hard to beat a hat-trick. Aagaard scored goals in a variety of ways today: in close, with a great wrister, you name it. He’s one of Denmark’s more skilled players and I like his game around the net. OFM kept finding ways to get him the puck and Aagaard kept converting.
Hungary
#7 Andras Mihalik, LW: Mihalik scored for Hungary yesterday and helped double the team’s advantage today. He’s like a fly – he just seems to be in the right spot at the right time a lot. The 22-year-old is quick, strong and always trying to rush to the net to make something happen. His last two games have been great for a team that needs all the scoring help it can get.
Slovenia 0, Sweden 4
Slovenia
#61 Lukas Horak, G: Horak was busy early, stopping all 16 shots sent his way. Slovenia eventually collapsed as expected but Horak put up the best fight that any goaltender has against the Swedes in Group A play. Originally born in Czechia, Horak has had to be busy for the Slovenians this year but has done as good of a job as you could expect from someone getting pelted with quality opportunities every game. His 56-save effort was one of the best of the tournament.
Sweden
#28 Elias Lindholm, LW (Boston Bruins): Sweden needed someone to get on the scoresheet and Lindholm converted on a feed from his good pal Mikael Backlund at 25:04. Lindholm scored again 13 minutes later, and again in the third period to complete the hat-trick and to put the game to bed. It’s been such a great tourney for Lindholm, who struggled in Boston this year. It seems like he enjoys playing in front of his home fan base, though.
#9 Filip Forsberg, RW (Nashville Predators): Forsberg looked snakebitten out there. He had an assist on the 2-0 goal, but probably should have had 2-3 goals himself. The Predators winger was the team’s most dangerous attacker in front of the Slovenian net but just couldn’t get the job done. Still, it was a solid game for a guy that we’re still waiting to see explode offensively – he became the last Swedish forward to register a point.
#90 Marcus Johansson, LW (Minnesota Wild): It was a bit surprising that Johansson only had one because he seemed so involved around the net all game long. He scored with four minutes to go, with his perfectly placed shot proving to be too much for Horak. I’ve liked his two-way game overall.
Norway 0, Switzerland 3
Norway
#78 Emil Lilleberg, D (Tampa Bay Lightning): Solberg had been Norway’s best defender in every game so far, but I liked Lilleberg more today. He was a lot calmer under pressure and played nearly half of every single period. He’s defensively stout but can handle the puck well under pressure, too.
Switzerland
#95 Tyler Moy, RW: Moy had a goal and an assist while also being good in the faceoff dot and generating a lot of quality chances. Moy is great in all situations for Switzerland, and his ability to rip shots from high-danger areas with ease makes him a tough nut to crack. Moy had a great start to the tournament and it’s good to see him keeping things moving.
#85 Sven Andrighetto, LW: The former NHLer ONLY had one goal today after scoring four against Germany. Still, it was his shot that put things in motion, with his 1-0 goal giving Switzerland the spark needed. He’s especially good on the power play, which is how he snagged his goal. Andrighetto is playing some of his best international hockey to date and the Swiss fans love it.
#28 Timo Meier, RW (New Jersey Devils): That’s another solid game from Meier, who had the primary assist on the 3-0 goal. He has been great around the net, and his passes connect with high accuracy regularly. He likes to get in front of the net and take space away, and Switzerland will keep relying on him with Nico Hischier out of the tournament.
