5 things learned from Day 3 of World Juniors

Friday was the third day of the 2019 World Junior Championship, which is being held in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.

Results
Russia 2, Czech Republic 1
USA 8, Kazakhstan 2
RELATED: [Complete World Juniors coverage]

Jack Hughes day to day for USA

United States center Jack Hughes didn't play in an 8-2 win against Kazakhstan on Friday for precautionary reasons because of an undisclosed injury. His status for the United States' game against Sweden on Saturday is unclear.
"He's doing better. I talked to him a little bit just recently. He's doing real well, smile on his face and getting better all the time," U.S. coach Mike Hastings said after the win against Kazakhstan. "We're day to day right now."
Hughes, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, leads USA Hockey's National Team Development Program under-18 team with 48 points (10 goals, 38 assists) in 25 games, and was MVP of the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship in Russia, scoring 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in seven games.
The 17-year-old center (5-foot-10, 168 pounds), who received an A rating on NHL Central Scouting's November Players to Watch list, had one assist in a 2-1 win against Slovakia in United States' first game of the tournament on Wednesday.

Canada inspired by McDavid, Crosby messages

Canada defenseman Evan Bouchard started the season playing with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, but it didn't lessen the impact of McDavid calling the team before the tournament started.
McDavid, who won gold with Canada at the 2015 WJC, addressed the team on speakerphone.
"It was pretty cool to get to hear his side of things," said Bouchard, picked 10th in the 2018 NHL Draft by the Oilers. "Just to hear his experience, what they did to come together as a team."
McDavid's advice led to Canada's players pledging to stay off social media, something goalie Michael DiPietro (Vancouver Canucks) announced in a Christmas Day message on Twitter.
"To not really pay attention to all the media stuff that is going on around you, especially with it being in Canada, there's going to be a lot of hype, so it's just coming together as a team, trust in each other and enjoy the whole moment," Bouchard said of McDavid's advice. "He said it's going to be everywhere, you can't get away from it, so I think the decision to stay off social media was important for us."
Canada coach Tim Hunter said Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby also delivered a message by phone, and Vancouver Canucks assistant Manny Malhotra spoke to the team in person.
"These are things we keep internal, what they say and what the message is," Hunter said. "Hockey Canada uses the alumni to their advantage. It's a powerful tool for us."

Czech Republic loads up

The Czech Republic loaded up its top line midway through a 2-1 loss to Russia on Friday, reuniting the line of Filip Zadina (Detroit Red Wings), Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes) and Martin Kaut (Colorado Avalanche) that was dominant at the 2018 WJC in Buffalo.
Zadina, picked No. 6 in the 2018 Draft by Detroit, scored seven goals and had one assist in seven games at last year's WJC. Necas, who was selected No. 12 in the 2017 NHL Draft by Carolina, had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in seven games. And Kaut, picked No. 16 by Colorado in 2018, had seven points (two goals, five assists) in seven games.
Despite that success, the three weren't together in a 2-1 overtime win against Switzerland on Wednesday. Kaut and Necas played together in the opener, but Zadina didn't join them until the second period against Russia.
"Obviously, it was pretty good to be together, we had a couple chances and we were flying in the o-zone," said Zadina, who has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 27 games with Grand Rapids in the American Hockey League this season. "We have pretty good chemistry between us and it's always easier to play with them, but if I will play with other players it's up to me to help them."
Zadina wasn't sure if they'd be back together against Canada on Saturday.
"I would love to play with them again, but we'll see what the coach says," Zadina said.
Kaut has two points (one goal, one assist) in the first two games of this year's WJC. Necas has one assist and Zadina is without a point.

Power play pre-scout pays off for Russia

Russia's pre-scout of the Czech Republic power play paid off with two shorthanded goals in their win. Artyom Galimov and Nikolai Kovalenko (Colorado Avalanche) each scored shorthanded to help Russia improve to 2-0-0-0 in Group A.
"We knew when we got the puck, we could jump up ice," said Russia defenseman Alexander Alexeyev (Washington Capitals). "We watched video before this game and we knew they were going to play in the middle of the ice through the guy standing in the middle and we were tight on the middle and when we had a chance we jumped and we scored two goals."

Hunter critiques young Lafreniere

Forward Alexis Lafreniere is the first 17-year-old since McDavid and the ninth youngest to play for Canada at the WJC, but coach Tim Hunter wasn't pulling any punches when asked to assess a player many expect to be the first pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
"We showed him some video from the Denmark game and he was out there skating around like it was a free skate, lots of circles in his game, and we weren't happy about that," Hunter said. "We showed him the video and I told him 'the start of the game you are going to show me whether you understood this or not and if you don't we are going to limit your ice time.'"
Lafreniere was without a point in a 14-0 win against Denmark on Wednesday, and along with 18-year-old Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings), dropped down the lineup in a 3-2 win against Switzerland on Thursday.
What's next |
Complete schedule
Saturday
Denmark vs. Switzerland (4 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN)
Slovakia vs. Finland (6:30 p.m. ET; [Dec. 30, 2 p.m. ET; NHLN])
Canada vs. Czech Republic (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN)
Sweden vs. United States (10:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN3)