World Championship: Faksa picks up assist as Czechs rally

Stars center Radek Faksa picked up one assist in his first game at the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia as the Czech Republic rallied for a 6-3 win over Latvia Thursday.
Faksa recorded three shots on goal, a plus-1 rating and won 7 of 18 faceoffs to go along with the one assist in 16:48 of ice time. Faksa centered the Czech's second line with Washington's Jakub Vrana and Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat on his wings.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: [Follow Faksa and Klingberg's quest for gold at Worlds]
Faksa assisted on a goal late in the second period that extended the Czech's lead to 4-2. After Faksa's deflection attempt of a Radko Gudas shot was blocked, Faksa tied up a Latvian defender, and Vrana grabbed the puck and scored with 1:20 remaining in the period.
Jakub Voracek had two goals and two assists for the Czechs, who overcame a 2-0 deficit in the game and improved to 3-1-0 in preliminary play. The Czechs play Italy on Friday.

Klingberg makes debut in Sweden's rout of Austria

Stars defenseman John Klingberg also played his first game at this year's tournament Thursday. He had no points, one shot on goal, a plus-2 rating and two penalty minutes in Sweden's 9-1 rout of Austria. Klingberg, who skated on the second defense pair with Nashville's Mattias Ekholm, logged 20:58 of ice time in the game.
The line of Gabriel Landeskog, Elias Pettersson, and Elias Lindholm combined for three goals and six assists for Sweden, which improved to 3-1-0 in preliminary round play.
Sweden's next game is Saturday against Switzerland.
The 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia is a showcase for NHL players of the present, past and future who are not involved in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 16-nation tournament began May 10 and runs through May 26. For complete coverage, click here.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.