Johnny Gaudreau returns, quarterfinals set at World Championship

It was a bit of good news and bad news for the Calgary Flames players on the final day of round robin action at the 2019 World Hockey Championship.

It was a tighter game than they had been used to playing, but the Czechs grinded out a 5-4 victory over Switzerland on Tuesday. Michael Frolik had a typical “Michael Frolik at the World Championship” game with a goal, an assist, two shots and was plus-two.

Frolik had seven goals, seven assists and was plus-nine in the round robin. He was tied with Evgeni Dadonov and Anthony Mantha for the tournament lead in goals, and was fourth in points overall. The Czechs finished second in Group B with a 6-1-0 record.

Sweden had a chance to win their group with a victory on Tuesday. They didn’t win, though, as Russia scored six times in the second period and won 7-4. Elias Lindholm was quiet, with one shot and an even plus/minus. The Swedes gave up seven even strength goals, so being even was probably the best anybody could’ve hoped for.

Lindholm had one goal, five assists and was plus-one in the round robin. The Swedes finished third in Group B with a 5-2-0 record.

Johnny Gaudreau returned after missing seven periods of hockey due to an injury suffered against Great Britain. Unfortunately, it didn’t help much, as the USA lost 3-0 to Canada. Gaudreau and Derek Ryan both had a shot and were minus-one, while Noah Hanifin had zero shots and was even.

Gaudreau had one goal and was even in the round robin. Ryan had one goal, three assists and was plus-four, while Noah Hanifin had three assists and was plus-nine. The Americans finished third in Group A with a 5-2-0 record.

The medal round kicks off on Thursday in Slovakia:

There’s the potential for zero Flames players to make it to the semi-finals. Or all five could make it through.