Guhle last man standing for Habs at World Championship

MONTREAL – The semifinal matchups for the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia were decided on Thursday.

Kaiden Guhle (Canada) will be the Habs’ lone representative in the final four in Prague. Cole Caufield (United States), Oliver Kapanen (Finland) and Juraj Slafkovsky (Slovakia) all suffered losses in their respective quarterfinals.

Here’s a recap of today’s games:

CANADA 6 – 3 SLOVAKIA

Jared McCann and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in quick succession early in the opening frame, and Canada upended Slovakia 6-3 to move on to the semifinals for a ninth straight time at the tournament.

The Canadians have not missed the medal round since 2014. Meanwhile, the Slovaks exited the competition in the quarters for the third time in the last four years.

Slafkovsky had the primary assist on Slovakia’s first goal – one that was scored off the stick of a Canadian.

P1 07:56 2-[1] Cehlarik (Slafkovsky)

Guhle was deployed for 15:58 and directed two shots on goal in Canada’s win. At the other end of the ice, Slafkovsky played 20:04, also contributing a pair of shots on goal.

The Habs’ Slovakian forward concluded the tournament with eight assists in eight games, tying for the tournament lead in assists through Thursday’s schedule.

SWITZERLAND 3 – 1 GERMANY

There were no Habs involved in this matchup, but Switzerland dismissed Germany from the tournament with a 3-1 victory to advance to the semifinals at the World Championship for the first time since 2018.

UNITED STATES 0 – 1 CZECHIA

Pavel Zacha’s marker at 6:39 of the second period stood as the game winner, as he and Czechia held off Caufield and the United States on Thursday.

The host Czechs return to the semifinals for the first time since 2022 after suffering a shutout loss to the Americans in the quarterfinals at last year’s tournament.

Caufield was a noticeable presence for the USA, firing three shots on goal in his 20:39 of playing time against Czechia. The 23-year-old wrapped up his first senior World Championship with eight points (4G, 4A) in eight games.

SWEDEN 2 – 1 FINLAND (OT)

Sweden got the last laugh in Thursday’s Nordic rivalry, eliminating Finland on an overtime goal courtesy of Joel Eriksson Ek.

The Swedes qualify for the medal round for the first time since 2018.

Kapanen was plus-1 in 15:33 of action today. The Finnish forward finished his tournament with a team-high six goals in eight games.

What’s next?

The final four is set for Saturday in Prague:

Semifinal 1: Sweden and Czechia go head-to-head at 8:20 a.m. ET (TSN1, TSN4, RDS2).

Semifinal 2: Guhle and Canada meet Switzerland at 12:20 p.m. for a spot in Sunday’s gold medal game (TSN1, TSN4, RDS).

Cover photo credit: Andrea Cardin/IIHF