Well, blink away for one second and this tournament is half-way through the Qualifying Round. So lets take a look at the results of the Preliminary Round.
Preliminary Round:
Group A
Results:
1 (Qualifying Round) - Germany 2W - 1OTW - 0L - 8PTS - +4GD
2 (Qualifying Round) - Russia 2W - 1L - 6PTS - +1GD
3 (Qualifying Round) - Slovakia 1W - 2L - 3PTS - 0GD
4 (Relegation Round) - Slovenia 0W - 1OTL - 2L - 1PTS - -5GD
Well...uh...Russia maybe missed having half of the Capitals roster on the team. Ah screw it, I'm too excited to downplay Russia's 2-0 lost to Germany, which was the FIRST game of the tournament. Seriously, too many ways to go on this: Kovalchuk's season-long curse continues, Nabakov's first meaningful game since December (could have said last year, but I'll give the KHL a break). After Russia though, Germany seemed to have struggled against the weaker opponents, allowing Slovakia to almost comeback from 3-0 and going to a shootout with Slovenia. Russia surprisingly struggled, winning only 6-4 and 4-3 against Slovenia and Slovakia respectively. Slovakia beat Slovenia 3-1 to keep a Qualifying Round spot. Slovenia now has to survive the Relegation Round.
Group B
Results:
1 (Qualifying Round) - Canada 2W - 1OTW - 0L - 9PTS - +12GD
2 (Qualifying Round) - Switzerland 1W - 1OTW - 1OTL - 0L - 6PTS - +3GD
3 (Qualifying Round) - France 0W - 1OTW - 1OTL - 1L - 3PTS - -8GD
4 (Relegation Round) - Belarus 0W - 1OTL - 2L - 1PTS - -7GD
Canada didn't have much trouble, winning 4-1 against Belarus and 9-1 against France. Their only challenge ended in a 4-3 overtime win against Switzerland. The Swiss surprisingly stumbled against France in their opening game, winning 1-0 in OT. They rebounded with a 4-1 win over Belarus. Speaking of Belarus, they just beat out France 4-3 in overtime* to qualify for the next round. France gets to fight from survival.
*A lot of overtime games eh?
Group C
Results:
1 (Qualifying Round) - Sweden 2W - 1OTL - 0L - 7PTS - +6GD
2 (Qualifying Round) - USA 2W - 1L - 6PTS - +2GD
3 (Qualifying Round) - Norway 1W - 1OTW - 1L - 5PTS - +4GD
4 (Relegation Round) - Austria 0L - 3L - 0PTS - -12GD
Sweden was stunned early in the tournament, losing to Norway 5-4 in a shootout. The Swedes rebounded with a 3-0 win over Austria and finished with a 6-2 win over the US. The Americans easily won against Austria 5-1 before needing a 3rd period comabck to beat Norway 4-2. Norway's only regulation win was a 5-0 drubbing of Austria. Austria is now in familiar territory (the Relegation Round).
Group D
Results:
1 (Qualifying Round) - Czech Republic 3W - 0L - 9PTS - +9GD
2 (Qualifying Round) - Finland 1W - 1OTW - 1L - 5PTS - +4GD
3 (Qualifying Round) - Denmark 1W - 1OTW - 1L - 4PTS - -9GD
4 (Relegation Round) - Latvia 0W - 2OTL - 1L - 2PTS - -4GD
The Czechs breezed by with a 4-2 win over Latvia, 6-0 win over Denmark, and 2-1 win over Finland. The Finns won 5-1 over Denmark and needed a shootout to beat Latvia 3-2. Denmark also needed a shootout to beat Latvia 3-2, and secured a spot in the next round. Latvia is (unfortunately) demoted to the Relegation Round.
Thats it for now. The Qualifying and Relegation rounds end Monday, review should be Tuesday.
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