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This will be a double-up post, acting as both a refresher and a look ahead at the rest of the tournament. It'll also serve as Friday's Open Thread for today's action.
With four games in the books, it's time to start looking at the possibilities for the tournament that's left. Here's your standings:
| Rank | Helsinki Group | Record | Pts | GD | Rank | Stockholm Group | Record | Pts | GD |
| 1 | Finland | 4-0-0-0 | 12 | +11 | 1 | Sweden | 4-0-0-0 | 12 | +10 |
| 2 | Canada | 3-0-1-0 | 10 | +6 | 2 | Russia | 4-0-0-0 | 12 | +9 |
| 3 | United States | 2-1-0-1 | 8 | +6 | 3 | Czech Republic | 2-1-0-1 | 8 | +2 |
| 4 | Slovakia | 2-0-0-2 | 6 | +2 | 4 | Latvia | 2-0-0-2 | 6 | +1 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 2-0-0-2 | 6 | +1 | 5 | Norway | 1-0-1-2 | 4 | -1 |
| 6 | Belarus | 1-0-0-3 | 3 | -3 | 6 | Germany | 1-0-0-3 | 3 | -3 |
| 7 | France | 1-0-0-3 | 3 | -13 | 7 | Italy | 0-1-0-3 | 2 | -11 |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 0-0-0-4 | 0 | -10 | 8 | Denmark | 0-0-1-3 | 1 | -7 |
In general, the favourites are doing as expected this tournament, with a bit of a dogfight going on in the Helsinki Group and an open battle for the final quarterfinal spot emerging in the Stockholm Group with Latvia currently ahead. It's far from over for Denmark, who have been facing the possibility of relegation since their shocking OT loss to Italy in Game 2, but they'll need to get a win quickly. Here's what the schedule is for each team remaining, after the jump:
| Team | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon | Tue |
| Finland |
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| Canada |
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| United States |
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| Slovakia |
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| Switzerland |
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| Belarus |
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| France |
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| Kazakhstan |
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| Sweden |
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| Russia |
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| Czech Rep. |
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| Latvia |
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| Norway |
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| Germany |
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| Italy |
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| Denmark |
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There's a lot to take in, but the battles for first place in each group will essentially be decided on Friday, while the lower spots will be a bigger battleground after that. Denmark has three winnable games to escape the basement, but are still in tough. Heck, if they win all three they could make the quarterfinal. Italy is doubtful to get any more points at this point considering their schedule. I give the edge to Norway for their remaining schedule for 4th place in the Stockholm group, but they need to beat Latvia on Saturday to stand a chance. The Americans are focusing on making the quarterfinals, but they still have an outside shot for first in their group. Slovakia and Switzerland on Sunday as well as USA and Switzerland on Tuesday will be the key games in the Helsinki Group for the final playoff spots. Latvia has to take on Scandanavia for their remaining schedule, while Germany will probably have to beat Denmark and Norway back-to-back to get back to the quarterfinals.
It'll be an exciting finish. Here are today's games presented in normal format:
| Game | Team 1 | Team 2 | City | CEST Start | EST Start |
| 33 | Kazakhstan | United States | Helsinki | 3:15 PM | 9:15 AM |
| 34 | Italy | Czech Republic | Stockholm | 4:15 PM | 10:15 AM |
| 35 | Finland | Canada | Helsinki | 7:15 PM | 1:15 PM |
| 36 | Russia | Sweden | Stockholm | 8:15 PM | 2:15 PM |
Keep up to date in the comments section throughout the day.
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