PRAGUE — Columbus Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist, and the United States rebounded from a 5-2 loss to Sweden by routing last year’s runner-up Germany 6-1 at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday.
Goaltender Alex Lyon stopped all 14 German shots he faced before he was substituted for Trey Augustine 3:27 into the middle period because of an injury. Augustine made 11 saves.
Tkachuk put the Americans up 1-0 by using his stick to deflect in a shot from the point by Kesselring. Defenseman Kesselring made it 2-0 on a breakaway.
Gaudreau, who had an assist in 23 minutes of action in the loss to Sweden, stretched the lead midway through the second period on a power play. Yasin Ehliz scored the lone goal for Germany then Hughes made it 4-1 with three seconds remaining in the frame.
Zegras added another from a power play in the final period and Eyssimont finished off the rout.
In Group A in Prague, Connor Bedard scored twice and Canada opened its title defense by beating newcomer Britain 4-2.
Bedard, 18, coming off a great rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks, netted twice in a four-minute span of the second period to put the Group A game in Prague out of reach.
Canada had to rally from a goal down despite outshooting Britain 12-3 in the opening period and 34-15 overall.
Liam Kirk put Britain 1-0 ahead on a power play eight minutes into the game, but the lead lasted just 30 seconds as Michael Bunting found the back of the net from the point.
Brandon Hagel put the defending champions ahead 5:45 into the second period with a shot high into the roof of the net.
Then it was Bedard’s turn.
The teenager beat goaltender Jackson Whistle (30 saves) midway through the frame for his first goal at the senior worlds. He made it 4-1 after Nick Paul fed him with a perfect pass.
Ben O’Connor scored in the third period for Britain.
Also in Group A, the host Czech Republic came back from 3-1 down to overcome Norway 6-3 for the second straight win, while Denmark cruised past Austria 5-1.
In Ostrava, Kazakhstan defeated France 3-1 in their opening Group B game.
In another Group B match, last year’s bronze medalist Latvia had to dig deep to overcome another newcomer in the top division, Poland, 5-4 in overtime. Latvia captain Kaspars Daugavins scored the winner with 1:31 remaining.
The Ottawa Senators have opened up a nice gap as the first wild card, with 75 points and 26 regulation wins in 65 games. Beyond them, things get interesting.
If it comes down to the regulation-wins tiebreaker at season’s end, the Rangers have an upper hand over all the rest, with 29 in that column, compared with 23 for the Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins, and just 22 for the Habs.
The Canadiens host the Panthers also at 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets face the visiting Rangers also at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
And if they have their sights set on catching the Senators, these clubs are all rooting for the Maple Leafs, who host Ottawa (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a great night for multiple streaming devices!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.
Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.
“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”
Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.
Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.
The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.