With the
calendar flipped to January 2025, we are approaching the midway point
of the 2024-25 NHL season. It's a good opportunity to examine the 10
players we…
World Junior Hockey Championship 2025: Quarterfinal Bracket Scores and Results
Jan 3, 2025
OTTAWA, CANADA - DECEMBER 31: Ryan Leonard #9 of Team USA skates in the second period against Team Canada of the Group A match during the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at Canadian Tire Centre on December 31, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Team USA defeated Team Canada 4-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
The quest for a repeat is still alive for Team USA while Canada's hope for a tournament victory on home ice came to an end.
The Americans advanced to the medal round with a 7-2 victory over Switzerland in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Tournament. The U.S, who won last year's tournament, are aiming to be the first American repeat champion in the 49-year history of the tournament.
Canada, on the other hand, fell 4-3 to Czechia after a late penalty and will not advance to the medal round for the second consecutive year.
In addition to the U.S's victory and Canada's loss, here's a look at the other scores of the day and the remaining tournament schedule.
Sweden jumped out to a 3-0 lead with the first two goals coming in the opening period. The goals came from Zeb Forsfjäll, Anton Wahlberg and David Edstrom.
SWEDEN SCORES FIRST!
Zeb Forsfjäll puts the shot just inside the post to open the scoring. Latvia believes there was interference on the play that went uncalled. #WorldJuniorspic.twitter.com/EDwrP5IVvE
Hagens and Leonard each added another tally in the second period while Zeev Buium added the other U.S. goal. Nils Rhyn and Andro Kaderli were the goal scorers for the Swiss.
Finland 5, Slovakia 3
Slovakia proved to be a worthy opponent for a strong Finland team but they did not have quite enough to pull off the upset.
Slovakia actually outshot Finland 36-19 in the game but a strong effort from Finnish netminder Petteri Rimpinin and some timely offense helped keep the team ahead,
Finland jumped out to a 4-1 lead but Slovakia was able to cut it to a 4-3 deficit late in the third period. That's when Jessi Nurmi provided a key insurance goal to give Rimpinin some breathing room
It was the worst case of déjà vu imaginable for Canada.
The team fell to Czechia in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 tournament in Sweden and were looking to avenge that loss in their home country. Instead, undisciplined play and timely scoring led Czechia to the victory.
A fan threw his jersey on the ice after Canada’s Quarter-Final loss. A PA announcement was then made to not throw objects on the ice. #worldjuniorspic.twitter.com/96ZkJOy1AW
Czechia had a double dagger in the opening period, with goals in both the first and last minute. Petr Sikora opened up the scoring before Tanner Howe evened it up. Jakub Stancl re-established the lead moments later and Eduard Sale provided the last minute dagger to give his team a 3-1 lead.
However, Andrew Gibson took a kneeing penalty moments later, setting up a late powerplay for Czechia to secure a victory. Adam Jecho made sure his team wouldn't waste this opportunity.
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NHL News: Rangers' Igor Shesterkin Reportedly Placed on IR with Upper-Body Injury
Dec 31, 2024
SUNRISE, FL - DECEMBER 30: Goaltender Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers warms up prior to the game against the Florida Panthers at the Amerant Bank Arena on December 30, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
The New York Rangers will be without their goaltender for a bit of time after an injury.
Per The Athletic's Arthur Staple, the Rangers are placing Igor Shesterkin on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury. With Shesterkin landing on the IR, the team announced that it has recalled goaltender Louis Domingue from the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Shesterkin, 29, is coming off a season in which he posted a 36-17 record behind 1,467 saves and a .913 save percentage. Another strong season from Shesterkin helped lead the Rangers to the conference finals, where they fell to the eventual champion Florida Panthers.
Earlier this month, after several months of negotiation, the Rangers made Shesterkin the highest-paid goalie in NHL history when they gave him an eight-year, $92 million contract. The deal passed Montreal Canadiens great Carey Price's previous record.
Before the new contract, Shesterkin was on a four-year deal with an AAV of $5.66 million and would have been an unrestricted free agent after the season.
With the ink still drying on his lucrative contract, the Rangers will have to go at least a week without their star goalie.
Shesterkin, in his sixth season, has an 11-15 record this year, posting a .906 save percentage with 751 saves. In Shesterkin's absence, veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick will likely see the bulk of the action in front of the net. Quick has made 12 appearances and nine starts this year, recording a .907 save percentage on his way to a 5-4 record.
New York has struggled in the season following its conference finals appearance, sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division at 16-19-1 through 36 games.
NHL Winter Classic: Connor Bedard Handles Tough Season with Taylor Hall's Mentorship
Dec 30, 2024
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 10: Connor Bedard #98 and Taylor Hall #71 of the Chicago Blackhawks are seen on the bench during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 10, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
When a player is hailed as "the next one" the way Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard has been since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2023, the hype and pressure that go with it are a lot to handle.
Now that the 19-year-old is in his second NHL season and his team is set to host the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, a player hailed as a generational talent seems poised to shine on one of the biggest stages of his young career amid all of that hype and pressure.
Bedard is Chicago's leading point scorer this season with 32, and he's just behind Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Donato for the team lead in goals. A year ago, he was the Blackhawks' top scorer and tied with Jason Dickinson for most goals despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw.
Enjoying the Moment
It's a tough spot to be in on a team deep in the throes of a rebuild, especially when he's expected to drag Chicago back to the playoffs the way Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby did for the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively, so soon after entering the league.
With Chicago buried at the bottom of the Central Division holding the fewest points in the league and the lowest points percentage, it's safe to say everything is not going according to plan. Still, the NHL's annual outdoor extravaganza allows a moment to soak in the biggest game of his pro career.
"You have to do your best to enjoy it," Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall said. "It just means you're playing on a marquee franchise, and they want to put you on the main stage, and I think you should enjoy that."
The Winter Classic has provided a big stage for the likes of Crosby, Patrick Kane and Alex Ovechkin to showcase their abilities to the world. Bedard getting a chance at such an early stage sets up a career-building block moment for the, ideally, bigger games and moments to come.
Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby at the 2011 Winter Classic.
For him, it's more about the team than anything else.
"We're lucky to get to play in one of these," Bedard said. "Obviously at home at Wrigley, it's going to be pretty special. I'm just excited to get to see what it's like, see the atmosphere, and just kind of enjoy it."
Winter Classics can be a bit overwhelming with the setting and the size of the crowd, and this taste of the event will be important for Bedard because it's surely not the last one he'll get to be a part of.
"It's kind of a chaotic time, but it's a lot of fun," Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Zucker said. "My first one was at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (2016 Stadium Series) and the second one was at Fenway Park (2023 Winter Classic). You play at Fenway with the Green Monster behind you and it was pretty impressive. It was a heck of a lot of fun."
The difficulty of the season weighs on the players, especially one filled with turmoil for Chicago. Bedard has already been through a coach firing, seeing Luke Richardson fired this month.
Mentoring a Superstar
But if there's an upside to all this, it's that Bedard doesn't have to shoulder the weight of expectations without some guidance from someone who knows about it all too well in Hall.
The 33-year-old was the first player picked in the 2010 draft by the Oilers, and before the team had McDavid, Hall was the original guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders to get a once glorious franchise back on track.
If there's anyone Bedard can lean on for experience navigating these rough waters, he only has to look to his left wing to find it.
Taylor Hall and Connor Bedard.
"I do enjoy the mentorship," Hall said. "I didn't get to be around Connor as much last year just being out, but this year we're starting to play on a line a bit more, so it's been fun. There's not a lot of people in the world that kind of know what you're going through and what comes with being a first overall pick and having a lot of hype, and in this day and age, it's all magnified with social media and TVs in your pocket all the time.
"But I do understand the pressure, and I do understand what it's like to go to a big market and have to perform."
Hall's NHL career has been truly incredible. He's gone from Edmonton to New Jersey—where he won MVP in 2018—to Arizona, Buffalo, Boston and now Chicago. Although Hall's teams have struggled to get to the playoffs, it helps serve as a lesson that getting to the top isn't easy, nor is it guaranteed, which makes it important to enjoy the big moments, like the Winter Classic, when they happen.
That said, Hall understands that things for Bedard are so much different now than they were for him.
"I think he's handled it great and I've really seen him just embrace it a little bit more this year rather than shy away from it last year," Hall said. "It's cool to be the face of a team and the face of a huge franchise like the Chicago Blackhawks.
"He's earned this, this is what he's worked for his whole life. He's starting to enjoy it and I've seen a lot more smiles, especially in the last couple of weeks. Development as an 18- or 19-year-old is never just a flat line. It's ups and downs and figuring out different things on the ice and off the ice."
Madeline Gaudreau, Widow of Matthew, Gives Birth to Son Tripp
Dec 29, 2024
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 08: Boston College Eagles forward Matthew Gaudreau (21) works the forecheck during a Frozen Fenway NCAA Men's Division 1 hockey game between the Boston College Eagles and the Providence College Friars on January 8, 2017 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Eagles defeated the Friars 3-1. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Madeline Gaudreau, the widow of Matthew Gaudreau, gave birth to their son, she announced on Instagram on Sunday.
The birth of their son, Tripp, comes four months after Matthew Gaudreau and his brother, Johnny, of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, were tragically killed after a vehicle hit them while they were riding their bikes in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, in August.
In December, the driver of the vehicle was charged by a grand jury with two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, per CNN's Jacob Lev.
Matthew was 29 and Johnny was 31.
"The National Hockey League family is shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement in August. "While Johnny's infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname 'Johnny Hockey,' he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path."
Matthew played professional hockey in the ECHL, spending four years with the Worcester Railers and one season with the Reading Royals. Johnny played 11 seasons in the NHL for the Calgary Flames and the Blue Jackets. He scored 743 points across his career, collecting a career-high 115 during the 2021-22 season.
Alex Ovechkin Returning for Capitals vs. Maple Leafs 40 Days After Broken Leg Injury
Dec 28, 2024
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - NOVEMBER 18: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skates against the Utah Hockey Club on November 18, 2024 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)
Alex Ovechkin is set to return to game action just 40 days after fracturing his left leg.
Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery announced that Ovechkin will play in the Caps' road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Ovechkin returned to full practice on Friday, per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
Carbery later said the team would determine Ovechkin's availability depending on how his leg reacted to the practice.
Ovechkin is now set to rejoin Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas on the Capitals' top line, while slotting in alongside Strome, John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun and Tom Wilson on the club's top power-play unit.
Ovechkin has missed 16 games since suffering a fractured left fibula after a leg-on-leg collision during a Nov. 18 game against the Utah Hockey Club.
The stretch marked one of the longest injury absences of his career. Prior to the fracture Ovechkin had missed just 35 games due to injury, and 59 games total, through the first 19 seasons of his NHL career.
The Capitals have historically struggled with their captain sidelined, with the franchise having marked a 26-28-5 record without Ovechkin prior to the season.
This time around, offseason additions including Strome and Chychrun helped the Caps stay at the top of the Metropolitan Division with a 10-5-1 mark in Ovechkin's absence.
The return of Ovechkin, who had 15 goals and 25 points in 18 games to start the season, will make the Capitals a legitimate challenger to beat out top teams including the New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs in the race to the top of the East.
His comeback also marks the resumption of his bid to beat out Wayne Gretzky for the NHL goalscoring record. Gretzky currently holds the all-time title after scoring 894 times between 1979 and 1999.
Ovechkin had scored twice against Utah before suffering his injury, bringing his career total to 868 goals. He sits 26 tallies shy of Gretzky's record with 48 games remaining in the Capitals' season heading into Saturday.
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