IIHF World Championships: Day Six Open Thread

Hey look, we got some photos from this tournament! Hooray!

After some interesting results on Monday, Tuesday went to the favourites. Belarus got their first win as expected over Kazakhstan, who will be lucky to get a point let alone a win with a schedule coming up that seems them play the four top teams in their group. Latvia took down Italy 5-0 for their second win, continuing their strong tournament which will see them in the mix for a playoff spot by the looks of things. Finland is proving a worthy tournament host and defending champion, going to 3-0 with a convincing 5-2 win over Switzerland, although that game had some tense moments for the home side. Russia shutout Germany 2-0 to remain undefeated.

Today's games should produce a bit more drama. Canada and Switzerland are known to have very tight games decided through special teams at this tournament, while Sweden has largely been untested and will face a desperate German team, looking for a big win as they try and qualify for a playoff spot. If Italy is going to surprise us all and make a bit of a playoff push, they'll need a win today against Norway, who have looked strong this tournament. Slovakia and Kazakhstan meet in the opener, which shouldn't be much of a contest, but I suppose you never know in this sport...

With the Nashville Predators and the Philadelphia Flyers out of the playoffs, there could be some reinforcements coming soon. Switzerland has already added defenceman Roman Josi to their team, while Belarus awaits word on the Kostitsyn brothers. Could Russia be adding Alexander Radulov, or one of the Philadelphia goaltenders? Canada and the USA have a lot of new options as well as we head into the preliminary round's final week.

The games can be watched on YouTube if you live in Canada, Germany, Switzerland or most non-represented countries in this tournament. We'll try and keep you updated on the action as it happens here. Also, you can follow my Twitter feed to see if I've checked in from there.