TAMPERE, Finland — Sakari Manninen scored and added two assists as hosts Finland beat the United States 4-1 on Monday to maintain a perfect record at the Ice Hockey World Championships.
After Nashville Predators forward Mikael Granlund gave Finland a 1-0 lead in the opening period, Austin Watson received a large penalty for a high goal against Teemu Hartikainen early in the middle period. Granlund has played well for the hosts after arriving late last week after the end of the Predators’ postseason.
Former NHL forward Valtteri Filppula and Manninen used the ensuing five-minute power play to increase the lead to 3-0, and Mikko Lehtonen later added the fourth in the frame.
Arizona Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk scored the Americans’ consolation goal in the third period.
Finland goalkeeper Jussi Olkinuora saved 29 shots, 15 of them in the final period.
2 relatives
Finland lead Group B in Tampere with nine points from three games. Team USA has five points in third place.
Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice to give defending champions Canada their third straight win with a 5-1 win over Slovakia. After the teams went 1-1 into the middle stages, Dubois scored the eventual winner on a power play and added another to double the advantage for his fourth goal of the tournament.
Adam Lowry, Morgan Geekie and Cole Sillinger, who is celebrating his 19th birthday, also shot for Canada with nine points from three games in Group A in Helsinki. Slovakia has three points.
Goaltender Logan Thompson made 34 saves as Team Canada defeated Slovakia 44-35.
In another Group A match, Germany defeated France 3-2 to secure their second win, while Latvia celebrated their first Group B win with a 3-2 win over Norway.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.