IIHF Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Norway

GAME NOTES: Canada vs. Norway (May 26)

TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

The preliminary round rolls on for

Canada’s National Men’s Team, which takes to the ice Wednesday against Norway looking to end its
tournament-opening three-game losing streak and keep its quarterfinal hopes
alive.

LAST GAME

Canada threw everything but the kitchen sink at Germany, peppering
goaltender Mathias Niederberger with 40 shots – including 19 in a
power-play-heavy second period – but came up short in

a 3-1 loss. Nick Paul scored the lone goal late in the first period for the
Canadians, who have lost three in a row at worlds for the first time since
2010.

It took Mathis Olimb just 90 seconds to give the Norwegians a lead against
Finland on Tuesday, but the Finns scored the next three en route to a 5-2
win. Tobias Lindstrom had the other goal for Norway, which sits just above
Canada in the Group B standings with one win from three games.

LAST MEETING

Connor McDavid and Bo Horvat did the damage offensively and Canada made it
three wins in a row with a

5-0 victory during the preliminary round at the 2018 worlds. McDavid finished his hat trick eight minutes into the second period and
Horvat scored twice, while Curtis McElhinney and Darcy Kuemper combined for
a 10-save shutout.

WHAT TO WATCH

We’ve asked this question in this space before, but it bears repeating –
where will the offence come from for Canada?

It’s not as if the opportunities aren’t there; the Canadians have outshot
all three of their opponents by a combined 107-65 (no team in the
tournament has more shots), but have just two goals to show for it. For
those doing the math at home, that’s a 1.9% shooting percentage. A team
with this much offensive talent has to break through eventually. But when?

A LOOK BACK

The head-to-head history has been … well, one-sided. Canada has dominated
the Norwegians to the tune of 21 wins in 22 games since their first meeting
in 1950, with the one outlier a 4-3 victory for the Norwegians in 2000.

The Canadians have won 11 in a row since then with a few significant
offensive outbursts. In addition to the McDavid hat trick mentioned above,
Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists in

a 7-1 win in 2006, Jordan Eberle had four points and John Tavares added a hat trick in

a 12-1 romp in 2010, Steven Stamkos posted a goal and three helpers in

a 7-1 victory in 2013 and Nathan MacKinnon recorded three assists in

a 5-0 blanking in 2017.

All-time record: Canada leads 21-1
Canada goals: 143
Norway goals: 22