PRAGUE (AP) – Canada showed its attacking power with a 6-1 victory over Latvia on Friday in the first game of the world hockey championship, while the United States beat last year’s runner-up Finland 5-1.
Dallas Stars forward Jason Spezza led the Canadians with two goals and an assist in the Group A match in Prague.
“We’re so new to each other, we’re trying to build chemistry,” Spezza said. “We talked every turn we came to the bench, we tried to figure out our systems, we tried to figure out the big ice, to use these games as building blocks for your team. Even if we got up early, we stuck to our plan and got better as the game went on.”
Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith made 16 saves as Canada outshot Latvia 42-17.
Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Tyler Toffoli and captain Sidney Crosby also scored for Canada. Crosby added an assist in his return to the worlds after nine years.