KOSICE, Slovakia – After a two-day break, Team USA returns to game action today to face Denmark in its fifth of seven preliminary round games at the 2019 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
Opening faceoff is set for 12:15 p.m. local time (6:15 a.m. ET) and the game can be seen live in the U.S. on NHL Network.
Team USA enters play today looking for its fourth straight win. In its last outing on Wednesday, the U.S. earned a 6-3 victory over Great Britain.
Patrick Kane (2-4—6), Alex DeBrincat (4-1—5) and Jack Eichel (0-5—5) are Team USA’s top point getters coming into play today. The U.S. has the second best power play in the tournament at 44.4% and is the least penalized team in the tournament with just seven minor penalties through the first four games.
The U.S. and Denmark have met seven times previously, with Team USA owning a 5-0-1-1 (w-otw-otl-l) advantage. At last year’s world championship, Team USA got goals from Will Butcher, Chris Kreider, Cam Atkinson and Nick Jensen and 20 saves from netminder Keith Kinkaid on the way to a 4-0 win over Denmark. Team USA outshot the Danes by a 43-20 count.
Team USA’s roster will be bolstered over the weekend with the arrival later today (but not in time for today’s game) of forward Luke Kunin from the Minnesota Wild. Tomorrow (but not in time for its game vs. Germany), defenseman Zach Werenski from the Columbus Blue Jackets is expected to arrive in Kosice.
