World Championship: Mike Matheson with stop of the year

This afternoon, Canada played their biggest match of the preliminary phase.

At stake: first place in Group A.

And thanks to a 5-3 victory, the Canadiens came out on top.

WHAT A MATCH. Canada takes 1st place in Group A! pic.twitter.com/X1Rz3Jvqj0

– RDS (@RDSca) May 20, 2025

They finished with a record of six wins and one overtime loss at the hands of the Finns a few hours ago.

Mike Matheson hasn't had a great tournament so far, with just two assists in seven games, but today he shone defensively.

He stole a goal from a Swedish opponent.

Look at that!

Crazy!!!

Mike Matheson, that's how https://t.co/1GebqFZfeO

– Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 20, 2025

In addition to Matheson, Macklin Celebrini shone in the Canadiens victory.

He scored the winning goal, and what a goal it was!

Pierre Houde with his classic “ET LE BUT” and a “MA PAROLE” on this sweet goal by Macklin Celebrini for Team Canada

pic.twitter.com/d1AqGZDNtM

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 20, 2025

What a player!

The Sharks' center finished the preliminary phase with six points in seven games.

The nation's top scorer is Nathan MacKinnon. Again today, he collected three points, for a total of 13 in seven games.

The unifolies will cross swords with Denmark, carried by a former Habs pick, who have just beaten the Germans to advance to the medal round.

DENMARK WINS IT IN A SHOOTOUT TO CLAIM 4TH PLACE! #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/UMlKizo6Sg

– TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 20, 2025

The quarter-finals will be held on Thursday, followed by the semi-finals on Saturday and the finals (for gold and bronze) on Sunday.

Here are the other confrontations:

Quarterfinals begin May 22 at the #MensWorlds!

Canada vs Denmark
Switzerland vs Austria
Sweden vs Czechia
USA vs Finland

Let the battle for the semis begin! #IIHFWorlds #Hockey #IceHockey #Quarterfinals #RoadToGold

– IIHF Rink Report (@iihfrinkreport) May 20, 2025