The U.S. gets the Czech Republic in the world men’s hockey championship quarterfinals in Denmark on Thursday.
In the other quarterfinals, Canada plays Russia, Sweden faces Latvia and Finland gets Switzerland. The U.S.-Czech Republic winner will play the Sweden-Latvia winner in Saturday’s semifinals.
The Americans, captained by Patrick Kane, won their first six games at a worlds for the first time at a standalone worlds (the Olympics doubled as the world championship in Olympic years as recently as 1968).
They ended group play with their first loss, 6-2 to Finland, on Tuesday. Kane tallied his sixth goal and tournament-leading 11th assist, setting the U.S. record for assists and points at a single worlds.
The U.S. is trying to earn the nation’s first world title since 1960, when the Olympics doubled as worlds, and third medal in six years. Its only title at a standalone worlds came in 1933.
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