The World Junior Championship is one of the few stages where the fierce rivalry between Team Canada and Team USA is put into the limelight.
Last night, the two teams battled it out in what was the most meaningful non-medal game of the tourney, with the U.S. dominating in a 4-1 win.
The game was 2-1 in favor of the USA, with the Americans' Cole Hutson and Danny Nelson scoring, and Canada's Bradly Nadeau on the scoresheet.
Then came the turning point when Leafs prospect Easton Cowan took an ill-timed and reckless penalty, handing Team USA a crucial power play.
On that power play, New York Islanders' 2024 first-rounder Cole Eiserman capitalized and fired a shot past Canadian goalie and LA Kings prospect Carter George.
Cole Eiserman rubbed it in on the way to the bench, taunting Easton Cowan, making the penalty all that more costly.
Cowan's long night wasn't done yet. In the final minutes of the game, with Canada's net empty, Cowan's defensive-zone turnover gave the U.S. a gimme chance to put the game away. The Americans didn't waste it, and the final was 4-1.
Both teams now proceed to the knockout stages, where every game is do-or-die. For Canada, this is a huge moment.
One more performance like this, or, for that matter, the earlier game against Latvia, will see them miss out on a medal for the second year in a row. Discipline and focus are going to be key if they want to avoid getting booted early.
G | A | PTS | ||
Dylan Strome | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Andrew Mangiapane | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Alexander Ovechkin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Tom Wilson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Jakob Chychrun | - | 2 | 2 | |
Martin Fehervary | - | 2 | 2 | |
Sam Carrick | 1 | - | 1 | |
Filip Chytil | 1 | - | 1 | |
Lars Eller | 1 | - | 1 | |
Chris Kreider | 1 | - | 1 | |
Connor McMichael | 1 | - | 1 | |
Aliaksei Protas | 1 | - | 1 | |
Mika Zibanejad | 1 | - | 1 | |
Nic Dowd | - | 1 | 1 | |
Pierre-Luc Dubois | - | 1 | 1 | |
Adam Edstrom | - | 1 | 1 | |
Rasmus Sandin | - | 1 | 1 | |
Braden Schneider | - | 1 | 1 | |
Reilly Smith | - | 1 | 1 | |
Urho Vaakanainen | - | 1 | 1 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 40 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 56 | |
Golden Knights | 38 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 55 | |
Capitals | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 53 | |
Wild | 39 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 52 | |
Devils | 41 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 51 | |
Maple Leafs | 39 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 50 | |
Panthers | 40 | 24 | 14 | 2 | 50 | |
Kings | 37 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 49 | |
Oilers | 38 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 49 | |
Hurricanes | 38 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 48 | |
Conference | Cumulative |