HERNING, Denmark -- Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied three points, including a goal and two assists, and Keith Kinkaid (Farmingville, N.Y.) recorded his second shutout in as many games as the 2018 U.S. Men's National Team earned a 3-0 victory over Germany in its third preliminary round game of the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship.
“Our compete level tonight was tremendous from start to finish,” said Jeff Blashill, head coach of the 2018 U.S. Men’s National Team. “Special teams are a significant part of these international tournaments, and that was evident here tonight not only with our power-play goals but also our penalty kill. We’ll enjoy ourselves tomorrow before coming back to rink Wednesday.”
The United States (2-1-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) will return to action Thursday (May 10) when it faces Latvia at 4:15 p.m. local time/10:15 a.m. ET. That game, along with all U.S. Men's World Championship games, will be broadcast live on NHL Network.
Both teams traded scoring chances throughout the opening frame, but neither team was able to gain the lead. The U.S. developed a trio of power-play scoring chances late in the period, but saw each attempt denied by German netminder Niklas Treutle.
In the middle frame, Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) nearly put Team USA on the board at the 7:10 mark with a breakaway attempt but saw his backhanded effort denied by Truetle’s left pad.
The U.S. finally converted three minutes later when Kane converted on the power play. The play started when Cam Atkinson (Riverside, Conn.) dished the puck to Johnny Gaudreau (Salem, N.J.) at the top left circle where he held on to it before finding Kane beneath the right faceoff dot for the one-timer tally.
Derek Ryan (Spokane, Wash.) connected just 1:37 later to put the U.S. up, 2-0. With the U.S. again on the man-advantage, Quinn Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) dished the puck to Kane whose shot was blocked towards the slot where Ryan was able to fire it into the goal for his first tally of the tournament.
Team USA’s penalty kill unit held strong late in the period as a German 5-on-3 opportunity was held off the scoreboard behind a pair of diving pad saves from Kinkaid.
The final stanza saw both teams generate scoring opportunities before a German turnover in its own zone resulted in Alex DeBrincat (Farmington Hills, Mich.) pushing Team USA’s lead to 3-0 with 9:22 to play in regulation. The goal started when a German pass bounced off the boards and behind the net where Kane was able to collect it and wrap around the left post before finding DeBrincat at the top of the crease for the tap-in goal.
In the final three minutes of play, the U.S. held on to its lead by successfully killing off a penalty to account for the 3-0 final.
Kinkaid made 24 saves for his second consecutive shutout as he and Team USA improved to 2-1-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the tournament.
NOTES: Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... For complete game stats, click here ... The initial 23-player roster can be found here ... Jeff Blashill (Detroit Red Wings) is serving as head coach for the second straight year ... The staff and players of the 2018 U.S. Men's National Team are selected by Bill Zito (Columbus Blue Jackets), general manager of the 2018 U.S. Men's National Team along with members of the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group that includes Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks), David Poile (Nashville Predators), Ray Shero (New Jersey Devils), Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers), and Jeff Gorton (New York Rangers) ... For complete coverage of the U.S. Men’s National Team, visit teamusa.usahockey.com/2018mensworlds … The official online home of the 2018 IIHF Men’s World Championship is 2018.IIHFWorlds.com … The U.S. has finished in the top four of the world championship in three of the last five years ... USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams ... NHL Network is the exclusive U.S. rightsholder for the tournament.
Date | Opponent | Round | Result | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tues., May 1 | Denmark | Exhibition | W, 3-2 | KVIK Hockey Arena Herning, Denmark |
Fri., May 4 | Canada | Preliminary | W, 5-4 (SO) | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Sat., May 5 | Denmark | Preliminary | W, 4-0 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Mon., May 7 | Germany | Preliminary | W, 3-0 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Thurs., May 10 | Latvia | Preliminary | W, 3-2 (OT) | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Fri., May 11 | Korea | Preliminary | W, 13-1 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Sun., May 13 | Norway | Preliminary | W, 9-3 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Tues., May 15 | Finland | Preliminary | L, 2-6 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Thurs., May 17 | Czech Republic | Quarterfinals | W, 3-2 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Sat., May 19 | Sweden | Semifinals | L, 0-6 | Royal Arena Copenhagen, Denmark |
Sun., May 20 | Canada | Bronze-Medal Game | W, 4-1 | Royal Arena Copenhagen, Denmark |