Nugent-Hopkins has goal and assist; Canada beats Germany, 3-0
HERNING, DENMARK — Just hours removed from a tightly contested overtime win over Latvia, Canada took no chances in its final preliminary-round game at the world hockey championship.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist as Canada finished off its round-robin schedule with a workmanlike 3-0 win over Germany on Tuesday. Less than 18 hours after Connor McDavid’s overtime winner clinched a quarter-final berth, Canada controlled Tuesday’s game from start to finish at Jyske Bank Boxen.
“It was a quick turnaround (between games),” said Tyson Jost, who picked up his fourth goal of the tournament in the third period. “You’re not used to that in the National Hockey League.
“I thought we handled it well. No excuses, that’s just hockey. We’re playing the game we love.”
Just 20 seconds into the first period, Brayden Schenn put the Canadians on the board when he directed a pass in the slot from Nugent-Hopkins past sliding German goaltender Niklas Treutle.
Nugent-Hopkins scored his fourth of the tournament at 8:14 of the second period with a shot that went between a screened Treutle’s pads.
McDavid, Canada’s leading scorer, picked up his 12th and 13th points of the tournament with assists on Canada’s first two goals.
In the third, Jost rounded out the scoring when he converted a pass into the slot from Joel Edmundson.
Starting in back-to-back games, Darcy Kuemper wasn’t busy but stayed calm when Germany was able to generate traffic near his crease in the second period. He stopped 12 shots for his first shutout of the tournament.
“I thought we did a good job of taking care of our bodies last night and getting ready to go again,” said Kuemper. “I thought as a team, we played super responsible. We were committed to playing defensively, even starting in the (offensive) zone, all the way back. That’s what we want to build on going into the medal round here, so I think we’re right where we want to be.”
With a quarter-final berth already locked down, Tuesday’s game served as a tune-up for the playoff round as coach Bill Peters continued to experiment with line combinations and work on special teams.
For a fourth-straight game, the power play sputtered. Canada has now failed to score on its last 16 man-advantage opportunities.
“We’ll get it addressed,” said Peters. “We’ll change it again.
“We’ll work on it tomorrow when we get into Copenhagen.”