We witnessed a ton of hat tricks in the preliminary round. Which one was the most memorable for you and why?
Andrew Podnieks: I mean, you can’t top Roman Cervenka’s hatty. The 39-year-old was playing in his 100th IIHF WM game, and what better way to celebrate than to score three and lead his team to a dominant 8-1 win over Kazakhstan. Last year’s IIHF Male Player of the Year is making a strong case to be considered again this year.
Risto Pakarinen: My favorite was the one with an extra goal thrown in for good measure – Finland’s Eeli Tolvanen’s four-goal game against Slovenia. Off the top of my head, I can’t remember ever seeing a Finnish player score four goals in an Ice Hockey World Championship game before. And Teuvo Teravainen’s six assists – which tied an Ice Hockey World Championship record from 1973 – were the icing on the cake.
Who from Group A is most likely to win the tournament scoring title?
Pakarinen: The scoring race is so close that the winner will most likely come from a team playing on Sunday, and I’m betting on Team Canada there. Nathan MacKinnon is my pick.
Podnieks: The preliminary round is where players can pile up the points. Once the playoffs hit, it’s a much tougher slog. So anyone who’s going to lead the tournament in scoring is likely in the top five or six right now. And then you have to figure out how far they will go and who they’ll play. That being said, I’ll go with Nathan MacKinnon, who is having a blast playing alongside number 87. He is in the prime of his career, on a high-scoring team, and likely a gold-medal contender. Plan B is David Pastrnak, who is having a great tournament as well.
What’s a savvy coaching decision or tactic that has impressed you so far?
Podnieks: France looked like it was going to pull off a mammoth upset against Finland. They scored an empty-net goal with 2:42 remaining to take a 3-1 lead. It was pretty much game over. But Finnish coach Antti Pennanen decided to pull goalie Emil Larmi again, and just 16 seconds later Suomi made it 3-2. Soon after the faceoff, Larmi came to the bench again, and Finland tied it. They won in OT. But kudos to Pennanen to pull Larmi even when two goals down. You just never know!
Pakarinen: I…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Rss News…