2026 IIHF World Championship: Crosby, Martone highlight top standouts from Day 4
Canada, Finland, Czechia and Switzerland came away with victories at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship on Monday, beating Denmark, the United States, Sweden and Germany, respectively.
Canada, Finland, and Switzerland each improved to 3-0 to put the pressure on their respective groups. Austria will look to also improve to 3-0 against Latvia tomorrow, while Slovakia can do the same if they beat Slovenia on Tuesday evening.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland on Monday:
Canada 5, Denmark 1
Canada seems to have an issue with Denmark for whatever reason.
The Danes shocked the hockey world with a major upset over Canada last year in the quarterfinal. And history nearly repeated itself today, with the two teams entering the third period tied at 0-0. In the end, a four-point effort from Sidney Crosby led Canada to a 5-1 win to help them improve to 3-0 in round-robin action.
Danish goaltender Nicolaj Henriksen was the man of the hour, stopping all 27 shots through 40 minutes. He finished the night with 33 saves while keeping the Danes in it. But everything would fall apart in the third period. Porter Martone, Gabe Vilardi, Denton Mateychuk, Ryan O’Reilly and Parker Wotherspoon all tallied a goal each to put the game firmly out of reach. Nick Olesen gave the Danish fans in attendance a reason to celebrate near the end, but it wasn’t enough to change the score in any meaningful way.
Canda
#25 Darnell Nurse, D (Edmonton Oilers): Nurse did a good job of breaking up plays, and he even had three shots in the first period. He can be a bit hit-or-miss as a defender but he gave the Danes little to work with and was able to shut down their top line consistently. That’s all you can ask for sometimes.
#71 Macklin Celebrini, C (San Jose Sharks): Celebrini was Canada’s best player early on. He had six shots in the first two periods before finally breaking through with a pair of assists in the third. Both were primaries, but he did a great job of keeping both plays alive while getting the puck where it needed to be. Crosby will receive all the love for his play in the second half today, but I thought Celebrini was the most impactful forward away from the puck today.
#87 Sidney Crosby, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins): Crosby didn’t look 100 percent down the stretch with the Penguins. He absolutely did today, though. Sure, he was playing against Denmark, but he powered through defenders – including 6-foot-8 Malte Setkov – like it was nothing. His upper-body strength is insane, and so is his ability to find linemates anywhere on the ice. It’s such a treat being able to watch him at this level. With his four-point effort today, it was like watching Crosby in his prime.
#94 Porter Martone, RW (Philadelphia Flyers): Martone jumped up to the first line midway through this game and gave Canada the massive boost they needed. He scored the icebreaker goal in the third and then created havoc in front of the net that led to the 3-0 goal. He’s big, strong and loves to get himself involved with every play. But… man, it was weird watching him play alongside Crosby, given the playoff round they battled through a few weeks ago.
Denmark
#1 Nicolaj Henriksen, G: Talk about being thrown to the wolves. This was Henriksen’s first major international game, but he was dialed in with 27 saves through 40 minutes. The Canadians eventually came alive in the third and pulled away, but Henriksen was lights out for the most part and was the reason this game was close to begin with.
Finland 6, USA 2
Some tough giveaways and poor goaltending resulted in the United States dropping a 6-2 decision to Finland on Monday.
The first period was a wild one, with three goals in a two and a half minute span. It started when Lenni Hameenaho stole the puck off Ryan Leonard and beat Joseph Woll glove side, making it 1-0. Matt Coronato then answered back over a minute later, only to have Patrik Pusitola restore Finland’s lead on another glove-side shot. Aatu Raty would go five-hole at 14:10 to make it 3-1 Finland – but the Americans still played well enough in the first to suggest the game wasn’t over.
Unfortunately for the defending champs, everything fell apart in the second. Hameenaho had his second of the game at 21:26 and Saku Maenalanen scored on the very next play to make it 5-1, ending Woll’s night early. Devin Cooley played well in relief, and Leonard even scored in the third to give USA some life. But an Anton Lundell power-play goal at 46:33 seemingly put the game to rest, with the Finns cruising to their third consecutive round-robin victory.
Finland
#41 Ville Heinola, D (Winnipeg Jets): Heinola hasn’t been able to become the highly touted defender he was once primed to be, but he has had a good tourney for the Finns. He’s a smart, puck-moving defender who breaks out quite consistently and can definitely shoot. He still struggles with physical battles, but he beat most American attackers that came his way with his skating instead.
#15 Anton Lundell, C (Florida Panthers): Lundell was a shooting machine, especially on the power play. He loves taking one-timers from the point, and it paid off with the sixth Finnish goal. He plays a solid two-way game and showcases a ton of pure strength, rarely losing a puck battle. Lundell has been great through three games and will need to continue that if Finland is going to win a medal.
#24 Hannes Bjorninen, C: Bjorninen was an absolute machine in the faceoff dot, winning 13 of his 16 opportunities on the team’s third line. He also blocked a few shots, killed some plays and showed a high level of reliability in the defensive zone. The 30-year-old doesn’t receive a ton of love (he had an assist today, though), but he has proven he can be a reliable depth forward at this tournament on an annual basis. As a fourth-liner, that’s exactly what you need to do.
#92 Lenni Hämeenaho, RW (New Jersey Devils): Here’s a tip to teams everywhere – stop giving Hämeenaho open space to release his shot. No matter the level, Hämeenaho seems to thrive internationally for Finland, and he exploded for two goals and three points in the first 22 minutes. Hämeenaho can be absolutely lethal on the attack, and while he’s known to be streaky, he doesn’t waste many scoring opportuntities.
USA
#1 Devin Cooley, G (Calgary Flames): Cooley may have solidified himself as the USA’s No. 1 with this game. He had to be busy after taking over for Woll and gave his team a fighting chance to win, even if his team in front of him couldn’t get the job done. Cooley allowed a goal on a shot he didn’t have much of a chance against in the third period, but otherwise seemed dialed in the rest of the way.
#11 Oliver Moore, LW (Chicago Blackhawks): Moore did all the hard work on Matt Coronato’s goal. He went end to end, using his quick speed and fearlessness while carrying the puck to get himself into the attacking zone. I love his energy and he’s a great two-way player. He has been one of USA’s better all-around forwards in this tournament.
Germany vs. Switzerland
Germany has fallen to 0-3 in round-robin action after losing 6-1 to Switzerland on Monday.
Switzerland has improved to 3-0 in Group A, giving the home fans plenty to cheer about after previously beating the United States and Latvia.
The game didn’t see the first goal until the second period – but that’s when everything quickly changed. Denis Malgin broke the ice on a shorthanded goal at 25:56 before setting up Sven Andrighetto three minutes later. Christoph Bertschy scored on the very next shift to make it 3-0, with Nico Hischier and Roman Josi adding goals in the second. Sven Andrighetto added a sixth goal at 45:16 for good measure. Frederik Tiffels scored Germany’s lone goal with about four minutes left to end Leonardo Genoni’s shutout, but it was far too late to get anything else going.
Germany
#53 Moritz Seider, D (Detroit Red Wings): It felt like Seider was the only German who still gave it his all in this one. Even as the game quickly started to fall apart and his ice time fell to keep him rested, Seider was out there trying to break up plays, take space away and just make life difficult for the Swiss. There wasn’t much else he could have done – the Germans just looked terrible out there.
Switzerland
#13 Nico Hischier, C (New Jersey Devils): Hischier had a goal and an assist in this one. He played in all situations, including being instrumental in helping the Swiss score on the penalty kill early in the second period. The strong, two-way center has come up clutch numerous times at this tournament, and he manages to stay calm under pressure as well as anyone. Today was a huge showing in front of a jam-packed crowd in Zurich.
#22 Nino Neiderreiter, RW (Winnipeg Jets): Neiderreiter had a pretty assist on Christoph Bertschy’s second-period goal and then added another on Josi’s marker later in the frame. He just seemed to win most of his battles and was very dangerous around the German net. El Nino had a tough year in Winnipeg, but he was full of confidence and puck dominance in this one.
#62 Denis Malgin, LW: The former NHL forward made a great play to score the opening goal, and then was part of the beautiful tic-tac-toe play that made it 2-0 three minutes later. Malgin finished with two points, but he also made some strong defensive reads and showed flashes of skill.
#90 Roman Josi, D (Nashville Predators): Josi had a nice three-point performance, including scoring late in the second. He simply commands attention that very few defenders at this event are capable of – his poise, hockey IQ, and physical dominance with the puck allow him to win most of his battles. Josi’s second-period effort, in particular, was one of the best stretches we’ve seen of any player so far this month.
Czechia 4, Sweden 3
Two days after losing to Slovenia in shocking fashion, Czechia managed to beat Sweden 4-3 in one of the most exciting games of the tournament.
The game started in wild fashion, with five goals getting scored – and an additional one getting taken back. Matej Blumel, Dominik Kubalik and Jakub Flek scored one each for the Czechs, with another goal getting waived off after the official blew the whistle while the puck was still loose.
The Swedes would later go on to take advantage of a five-minute power play after Jan Scotka was ejected for cross-checking following Flek’s goal. Joel Persson and Simon Holmstrom would make it 3-2 after both beating Josef Korenar on the man advantage.
The Czechs would kill the rest of the penalty, and Jiri Cernoch would make it 4-2 early in the second. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, however, would score Sweden’s third power play goal of the game, blasting a shot past Korenar to make it 4-3. Unfortuantely for the Swedes, that was all the offense they could muster as Czechia skated away with the win.
Czechia
#17 Filip Hronek, D (Vancouver Canucks): Hronek got an assist early in this one when his shot blasted through traffic and was tipped in by Matej Blumel. The slick, puck-moving defender has eaten a ton of minutes overall for Czechia because they rely on him – and he’s solid at both ends of the ice. He rarely gets overwhelmed when a team throws their speed at him because he makes quick decisions consistently. I have liked his tournament so far.
#12 Jiri Cernoch, C: Cernoch battled hard in the faceoff dot, but also was a pain in the butt around the net. He scored, killed penalties and was generally in the way of Sweden’s attack whenever they tried to make things happen in the offensive zone. Cernoch won’t dazzle you with skill, but he’ll rarely lose a 1-on-1 battle along the boards.
#23 Lukas Sedlak, C: Sedlak is a tough cucumber. He’s built strong, plays a solid defensive game and is more than capable of winning battles to keep plays alive in the offensive zone. Sedlak will never blow you away with pure skill, but he makes up for it by outworking just about everyone on a given night.
Sweden
#94 Joel Persson, D: Persson was on Sweden’s third D pairing, but he still finished the day with a goal and an assist. The former Edmonton Oilers prospect hits hard and shoots harder. He loves being involved in any physical play he can get himself into, and he’s no slouch with the puck, either. Persson can be a bit inconsistent in his own zone, but he was one of the few bright spots on the Swedish blueline today.
#10 Simon Holmstrom, LW (New York Islanders): Holmstrom had a goal and an assist in his best game of the tournament. The underrated forward has had a huge tournament so far, registering at least one point in each game so far. Holmstrom is fresh off his second NHL season with at least 40 points, so he clearly knows how to get the puck into dangerous areas. His goal today was the first of his senior hockey career for his country.
#51 Emil Heineman, LW (New York Islanders): I loved Heineman’s game today. He was a chaos machine, getting involved physically all night. He also had a pair of assists to help get the Swedes back in the game on the power play. Heineman doesn’t panic under pressure, and while he’s not blessed with high-end skill, he’s a great playmaker.