World Championship: Klingberg, Janmark advance to semifinals

Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg and forward Mattias Janmark are headed to the semifinals at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark after Sweden knocked off Latvia, 3-2, in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored goals for Sweden, which improved to 8-0 at the tournament. Sweden will play the United States in the semifinals on Saturday.

The game was tied 1-1 heading into the third, but Arvidsson scored off a nifty redirection of a Mattias Ekholm pass at the 1:49 mark to put Sweden ahead 2-1. Ekman-Larsson scored less than five minutes later to push the lead to 3-1.
Klingberg had no points, three shots on goal, and an even rating in 20:32 of ice time for Sweden while playing on a defense pair with Hampus Lindholm. Klingberg has five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-4 rating in eight games. His 22:27 of ice time per game ranks third among Swedish defensemen.
Janmark had no points, no shots, and a minus-1 rating in 17:28 of ice time. Janmark, who is playing on Sweden's top line with Mika Zibanejad and Rickard Rakell, has nine points (three goals, six assists) and a plus-7 rating in eight games while averaging 17:20 of ice time per game. Janmark is tied for 10th in points at the tournament.

Switzerland 3, Finland 2

Switzerland scored three goals in a 3:55 span of the second period to take a 3-1 lead and then held on to upset Finland, 3-2, in Thursday's quarterfinals.
The Swiss will play Canada in the semifinals on Saturday. Canada defeated Russia, 5-4, in overtime on a Ryan O'Reilly goal.
Stars defense prospect Miro Heiskanen had no points, no shots on goal, and an even rating in Thursday's game while leading Finnish defensemen in ice time at 19:31. Heiskanen finished the tournament with two assists and a plus-7 rating in eight games. He led Finnish defensemen in average ice time at 18:58 per game. According to player tracking statistics at the World Championship, Heiskanen was clocked as the 10th-fastest skater during the preliminary round and tops among defensemen.
Stars defenseman Julius Honka had no points, one shot on goal, and a minus-1 rating in 11:52 of ice time Thursday. Honka finished the tournament with one assist and a plus-two rating while averaging 1:45 of ice time per game.

United States 3, Czech Republic 2

Patrick Kane scored two goals, including the game-winner 6:58 into the third period, as the U.S. topped Czech Republic, 3-2, in the quarterfinals Thursday.
The USA led 2-0 after one period, but the Czechs tallied twice in the second to tie the game before Kane broke the tie in the third.
Stars center Radek Faksa tallied one assist, no shots and a minus-3 rating in 15:19 of ice time for the Czechs. Faksa set up the Czechs first goal, skating into the USA zone and sending a cross-ice pass to Michal Repik, who scored from the left circle to cut the USA lead to 2-1 in the second period.
Faksa ended the tournament with three assists and a plus-1 rating in eight games. He averaged 17:14 of ice time and won 61 of 128 faceoffs (47.7 percent).

Thursday's quarterfinals

USA 3, Czech Republic 2
Canada 5, Russia 4 (OT)
Sweden 3, Latvia 2
Switzerland 3, Finland 2

Saturday's semifinals

Sweden vs. USA, 8:15 a.m. CT
Canada vs. Switzerland, 12:15 p.m. CT
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.