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Flames at World Juniors Day 5: Russians off to quarterfinals
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Photo credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Pike
Dec 31, 2020, 01:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 6, 2021, 20:37 EST
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It was a quiet day for Calgary Flames prospects on Wednesday at the World Juniors, with only one team in action. But the one game that went on will have huge ramifications for the standings in Group B and the seeding for the quarterfinals.

Russia 4, Sweden 3 (OT)

The streak is dead, long live the streak.
For the first time since 2006, Sweden lost a group stage game. They rallied back to force overtime, only to fall to the Russians. It was an excellent, awesome game.
Yan Kuznetsov registered a shot in 16:34 of ice time.

New Year’s Eve preview

Alright, here’s what is at stake for Flames prospects over the final three games of the round robin.
Canada: Canada plays Finland at 4 p.m. MT. If they win, they finish first in Group A and play the fourth place team from Group B in the quarterfinals. If they lose, they finish second in Group A and play the third place team from Group B in the quarterfinals.
Group A is simple: Canada and Finland will finish first and second (in some order), with Germany third, Slovakia fourth and Switzerland fifth.
Group B is chaos.
Here are the standings going into Thursday:
  • 1st: Russia (3-1-0, 8 points) – have tiebreaker over USA and Sweden, one win was in OT
  • 2nd: Sweden (2-0-1, 7 points)
  • 3rd: United States (2-1-0, 6 points) – have tiebreaker over Czechs
  • 4th: Czech Republic (1-2-0, 3 points)
  • 5th: Austria (0-3-0, 0 points)
Two games impact these standings: Sweden vs. USA and the Czechs vs. Austria. Let’s just assume that Austria loses in regulation – sorry Austria, but you’ve been out-scored 22 to 1 thus far, it’s a safe bet. In that case, the Czechs finish fourth because the Americans have tiebreaker.
From there, we have three scenarios.
  • If Sweden beats USA in any manner, they finish with 10 points (regulation) or 9 points (OT) and they’re first in Group B. Russia would be second and USA third.
  • If USA beats Sweden in regulation, they finish with 9 points and finish first in Group B. (Russia would be second, Sweden third).
  • If USA beats Sweden in OT, they both finish with 8 points (in a three-way tie with Russia). But because of tiebreakers, Russia finishes first, USA second and Sweden third.
Clear as mud! Enjoy the day full of games, friends.
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