Men's World Championship recap: Alex Tuch, Tyler Toffoli shine on Day 9

USA scores three late goals to beat Denmark

• He left the game scoreless, but Cutter Gauthier (PHI) continues to show why he’s one of the best prospects in the game. The college forward was so engaged for the Americans, showing good chemistry with Carter Mazur (DET). It was only fitting that Gauthier broke the deadlock with about 10 minutes to go, with his perfect shot going top shelf to win the game.
• After starter Frederik Dichow (MTL) was pulled due to a suspected injury after the first period, George Sorensen looked excellent the rest of the way in the Danish net. He stopped 11 shots in the second and was excellent again in the third in his first tournament action.
• At the other end, Casey DeSmith (PIT) continues to shine. He made 22 stops for the Americans in a shutout bid, with the Penguins goaltender allowing just three goals total in three games. And they weren’t easy starts, either.
• Given it was 0-0 for nearly 50 minutes, it’s impressive that Alex Tuch (BUF) still managed to get three points. He assisted Gauthier on the power-play goal and then scored the backbreaker at 55:30 off of an excellent pass from Rocco Grimaldi. Tuch then unselfishly set up Grimaldi for a breakaway empty-netter in the final minute to cap off the evening.

Switzerland beats Canada to keep top spot in Group A

• Tyler Toffoli (CGY) entered the game snakebitten, with no goals through four games. That changed on the power play, taking Scott Laughton’s feed for the 1-0 goal. Maybe that’ll unlock something because while Toffoli hasn’t played bad, he’s been quiet.
• He doesn’t do anything really flashy, but Scott Laughton (PHI) does a good job of jamming up lanes and forcing turnovers to create scoring chances. That’s been working well for him, including setting up the icebreaker in the first. Those simple, hard-working efforts go a long way.
• Samuel Montembeault (CAN) hasn’t always had to be good, but he kept things close against a Swiss team that’s been so dangerous. He ended up taking his first loss of the tournament, but it wasn’t his fault.
• The Swiss have been rotating their two goaltenders all tournament long, and Leonardo Genoni was excellent once again. He finally allowed his first goal, but still is perfect at five-on-five. The experienced Swiss goaltender stopped a couple of barrages from the Canadian attack and was perhaps the most important player for Switzerland.
• Nino Niederreiter (WPG) was part of the most controversial moment in the game when Joe Veleno stomped on Niederreiter, only for the Swiss player to get a penalty for roughing a few seconds later. So it was fitting to see him set up legendary HC Davos forward Andres Ambuhl for the the game-winning goal. Call it sweet revenge, if you like.

Czechia shuts out Norway

• Dominik Kubalik (DET) improved his tournament scoring lead to seven goals and 11 points thanks to his power-play goal in the first. Jan Kostalek waited long enough to set up Kubalik in clear space, ripping a shot past Henrik Haukeland for the 1-0 goal. He’s been so good when given space in this tournament, with his one-timer proving to be an extraordinary challenge for goaltenders so far.
• Former Washington Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny now has six points at this year’s tournament, surpassing his previous three-year cumulative total of five points in 24 games. MacKenzie Weegar has been the best defenseman in the tournament, but Kempny has been just as effective for his own squad.
• Henrik Haukeland has been far from perfect in this tournament, but Saturday was more of what we’re used to out of him. He was especially good on his team’s five-minute major power play, stopping a nice two-on-one and coming up big on a breakaway chance. Haukeland was the main reason this game remained close at five-on-five, no question.

Finland beats Austria to stay strong

• It can’t be easy to make your first World Championship start in five years against the hosts, but David Madlener was outstanding in net for the Austrians. He had 36 saves and was the real reason the game wasn’t 5-1 or 6-1. He tracked pucks well, was athletic and made some excellent saves against a Finnish team that’s still seeking some consistency improvements.
• Olli Määttä (DET) had a good puck game, grabbing a pair of assists to give him five points in six outings for the Finns. Määttä has been outstanding for a team as the lone NHLer, even though he played only 16:28. The Finns have spread the work out across the board, but Määttä and Miika Koivisto have been a tough pair to crack.
• There’s been a few games where Kaapo Kakko (NYR) has looked quite quiet. He found Kasperi Kapanen for the opening goal and was the best play-driver on his line. The past two games have been his best of the tournament, heating up at the right time.
• Marco Rossi (AUT) continues to be the primary setup man for Austria. Even as his team struggles to create offense, he seems to always be involved. The hockey IQ there is as good as you get from a prospect.

Sweden cruises to win over France

• Henrik Tommernes has never played an NHL game, despite being drafted by Vancouver in 2011. But every time he dons the yellow and blue Tre Kronor, he seems to thrive. He had three assists in the first period to give him eight through five games, tying Canada’s MacKenzie Weegar for first in the tournament. Yeah, he’s good.
• Fabian Zetterlund (SJS) had a quiet tournament up until Saturday. He scored a nice breakaway goal at 9:25 and then scored on the man advantage with just five seconds to go in the opening frame to make it 4-0.
• Lucas Raymond (DET) helped set up the fourth goal, and did a good job of maintaining pressure while on the ice — exactly what you’d expect from someone like Raymond.

Kazakhstan no match for Latvia

• That was quite the game for former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Martins Dzierkals, who assisted on the power play and then scored on a weird breakaway goal. He’s been consistently one of Latvia’s better players all tournament, as expected.
• Rihards Bukarts knows how to generate offense, and he got the ball rolling with the power-play goal at 15:39. He also set up Miks Indrasis for the 5-0 goal while playing some good own-zone hockey.
• Kaspars Daugavins tried a cheeky flip pass, a la Trevor Zegras early in the game. It didn’t work, but he scored and added two assists, so it was a solid night, nonetheless.
• Shoutout to Arturs Silovs (VAN), who made a nice save at one end that led to a goal at the other. He was originally credited with an assist, but that was changed. He finished with a shutout.
• Oskars Batna had a goal and an assist for his best IIHF game. Every time he touched the puck, something seemed to happen.

2023 NHL Draft watch

• David Reinbacher (AUT) returned to the lineup after suffering an injury against Sweden earlier in the tournament. He was on the third pairing and was on for a goal against, but he seemed confident with the puck and we saw his usual strong playmaking.
• Adam Fantilli (CAN) broke the 13-minute barrier for the second straight game, playing in 13:30. He had two shots and looked good alongside Toffoli, but had nothing on the scoreboard to show for it. He sits at two points for Canada overall.
• Leo Carlsson (SWE) will wish he had his early missed shot that would have opened the scoring. Instead, he found Jonatan Berggren in front for the 3-0 power-play goal, giving him three points in the tournament. He probably should have had about three points, but, alas.