The preliminary round has concluded at the World Junior Championships. Now, the competition really begins and there are four New York Rangers prospects who will realistically be vying for the gold medal.
The New York Rangers have to be satisfied with the play of their prospects, especially the two on Team Sweden. As expected, Nils Lundkvist was a stalwart on defense for the Swedes while center Karl Henriksson, separated from his past tourney linemates Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz, was still able to contribute offensively.
Zac Jones of Team USA opened some eyes with his offensive prowess while K’Andre Miller provided mature leadership as a repeat participant.
Swiss defenseman Nico Gross only played in two games before sustaining an injury and is a question mark for the rest of the tournament. This is his third WJC and he is co-captain of the Swiss team and they could use his experience.
Sweden 6, Slovakia 2
Sweden overwhelmed Slovakia for their 51st straight win in the preliminary round, a record that will probably never be broken. Both Rangers prospects made the scoresheet with Henriksson getting the primary assist on the Swede’s second goal, scored by Albin Eriksson.
Sweden quickly goes up 2-0 thanks to Albin Eriksson, just 15 seconds after their first goal! pic.twitter.com/VVyRsfno9I
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 31, 2019
It was another special pass from Henriksson that set up the goal that doubled the Swede’s lead. As for Nils Lundkvist, he’s been averaging a point a game and he added to that with only 16 seconds left in the game with a secondary assist on Samuel Fagemo’s goakl to close out the scoring.
FAGEMOOOOOOOOO!!!!! No back-to-back goals this time, but that's ok. Fagemo seals it for @trekronorse with a 6-2 final over Slovakia. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/2XgxYvI9dh
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 31, 2019
Sweden finished in first place in Group A by two points over Switzerland. In Group B, Canada snuck into first place with nine points while the United State finished one point behind them.
Here’s how all of the Rangers prospects finished the preliminary round.
Nils Lundkvist – 4 games, 4 assists, 4 points, 9 SOG, 0 PIM, +3 plus/minus, 20 minutes TOI, 27 shifts per game
Karl Henriksson – 4 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, 3 SOG, 2 PIM, 0 plus/minus, 12 minutes TOI, 17 shifts per game
Zac Jones – 4 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, 11 SOG, 0 PIM, +1 plus/minus, 17 minutes TOI, 22 shifts per game
K’Andre Miller – 4 games, 2 assists, 2 points, 5 SOG, 2 PIM, +1 plus/minus, 19 minutes TOI, 29 shifts per game
Nico Gross – 2 games, 1 goal, 1 point, 5 SOG, 2 PIM, -1 plus/minus, 13 minutes TOI, 23 shifts per game
The medal round
The quest for a gold medal begins with the quarterfinal round on Thursday, January 2. Miller and Jones will lead Team USA against the defending champions from Finland in a game that begins at 11:30am EST.
Lundkvist and Henriksson will seek to make up for last year’s upset loss to the Swiss in the Quarterfinals when they take on the Czech Republic at 2pm EST. If Nico Gross is healthy, he will lead the Swiss in their match with Russia that begins at 630am EST.
All games involving the teams from Canada and the United States have been view-able on the NHL Network. This round is an elimination round so no more losses are acceptable.
Kazakhstan and Germany, the teams that finished in last place in Groups A and B will play each other in a two-game relegation series. The winner remains in the Top Teams competition, with the loser going into the Division 1A tournament, replaced by the best 1A team.