Canada 5, France 0
Not bad if you like perfect.
Just one of the games on Tuesday at the 2025 IIHF World Championship had a local flair to it, with Ryan Huska, MacKenzie Weegar and Team Canada improving to 3-0-0-0 with a spotless, 5-0 win over France.
Weegar logged 18:14 in ice time and had three shots on goal, along with a +1 rating.
Canada out-shot France 36-15, with St. Louis Blues puck-stopper Jordan Binnington recording the shutout.
In three games to this point, Canada has allowed only a single goal.
Predictably, the Canadians were on their toes and playing downhill for much of the opening 20, out-shooting the French 14-6 and dominating the time of possession, including a number of prolonged stretches that resulted in some of their best looks – and near misses – of the stanza.
Weegar was among those who looked skyward, after his wrister from the right circle caught pipe and skittered across the goal line early in the contest.
Canada, though, was relentless – and before long, the scoreboard caught up to the chances.
Bo Horvat put the red and white up 1-0 at 6:32 – neatly corralling a centring pass from Tyson Foerster and toe-dragging around a flat-footed defender in the slot, before depositing a silky backhand shot under the arm of goalie Julian Junca to secure his first of two on the night.
And with that, the rout was on.
Kent Johnson set up Will Cuylle on a 2-on-1 to double the lead in the back half of the frame.
Sidney Crosby entered the chat and tallied his first of the tournament late in the second with a gentle set of mitts. No. 87 won a battle, drove hard to the net at the near side, and chipped it under the bar in tight, with nary an inch to spare.
