All Montreal Canadiens prospects in action as the preliminaries wrap up

The Round Robin of the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championships is on its final legs and will see all seven Montreal Canadiens prospects in action.

Five days of preliminary gameplay has led up to this. After today, the calendar will turn to 2019 and the World Juniors will enter its playoff round where winning is the only way to continue playing. The Montreal Canadiens have had a lot to be proud of so far and with all seven suiting up – six depending on how the goaltending goes for the States – there will be a magnitude of hockey to track.

Day Five Results

Russia wins 7-4 over Switzerland

• Alexander Romanov played a little over 20 minutes and got the primary assist on Alexander Alexeyev’s powerplay goal to make it 5-3

Slovakia wins 11-2 over Kazakhstan

Final Day Schedule

Denmark vs. Czech Republic – 1:00 PM PST at Rogers Arena (Vancouver)

Sweden vs. Kazakhstan – 3:30 PM PST at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (Victoria)

Canada vs. Russia – 5:00 PM PST at Rogers Arena (Vancouver)

USA vs. Finland – 7:30 PST at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (Victoria)

Romanov and Ryan Poehling have found their way to the top of certain scoring boards. The young defenceman is in a three-way tie for most points at that position with four (1 goal 3 assists) while Poehling is tied for most overall points with Canada’s Morgan Frost after his four-point performance against Sweden bumped him up to seven.

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Speaking of Sweden, the team, along with Jacob Olofsson, have a good chance at being the top seed coming out of Group B. That overtime victory over the US was a crucial one as another win today will secure first place. The best Poehling and the rest of his squad can do at this point is second and that won’t be easy with Finland standing in their way.

Finland’s only loss was to Sweden back on day one. They’re a very skilled team and have the potential to take it to the US making goaltending the key difference.

Cayden Primeau has been the backup for the majority of the tournament. However, allowing Sweden to put up five goals may leave the door open for Primeau to get the start.

And then there’s the CAN-RUS game. These two teams have come together countless times at the World Juniors for some exciting hockey. They’re both tied with nine points and a win settles it. Canada is leaking with skill, but Russa as a number of dynamic players who can change the scale of a game in an instant.

Even though it’s the second last match of the day, that may be the main event to watch as the preliminaries come to an end. Nick Suzuki has made the most of his playmaking for Canada while Josh Brook’s play on defence is a contributing factor as well. At the same time, Romanov has taken his game to new heights at this tournament and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Make your predictions now and enjoy your New Years because, after today, things at the World Juniors get serious.