Evgeni Malkin had a better time than Matt Murray as the IIHL World Championships began Friday in Slovakia.
Malkin had a pair of assists as his Russian team cruised to a 5-2 victory over Norway. Murray stopped 24 of 26 shots as Canada dropped a 3-1 decision to Finland.
Malkin made a pair of nearly identical plays to help Russia jump out to a 4-0 lead, taking the puck behind the net on the power play and centering to Florida’s Evgeni Dadonov between the hash marks for a goal.
Here are both Dadonov's goals together back-to-back. #IIHFWorlds #FlaPanthers pic.twitter.com/c9XpFRPTZI
— Aivis Kalniņš?? (@A_Kalnins) May 10, 2019
A Finnish team with no NHL regulars on the roster beat Canada thanks to a breakaway goal from Kaapo Kakko and a rebound goal from Arrtu Ilomaki off a net-front scramble on the power play. Kakko, an 18-year-old who is expected to be selected second overall in June’s NHL draft, also scored an empty netter.
Four other Penguins players are also in the tournament – Canada’s Jared McCann, Sweden’s Patric Hornqvist and Marcus Pettersson and the Czech Republic’s Dominik Simon. Teddy Blueger was set to play for Latvia but has been sidelined by an undisclosed injury.
