Blackhawks Connor Bedard Back On Scoresheet In Canada's 6-3 Win Over Slovakia At IIFH World Championship

Connor Bedard got back on the scoresheet with a nifty move to set up Nick Paul's first of two goals in Canada's 6-3 win over Slovakia in the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Championship in Prague on Thursday.

Connor Bedard joined the celebration after setting up Nick Paul's first goal. IIHF

Skating on Canada's fourth line, Bedard was part of a crisp passing play off the rush. He broke down the middle, froze Slovak goal Samuel Hlavaj, then dished to Paul for a one-timer from the left circle. Paul connected at 3:48 of the second period to make it 3-1. Paul, who plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning, added an empty-netter with 50 seconds left to ice it.

Bedard skated 12 minutes in the game, finished with three shots on goal and was plus-1.

The Blackhawks and NHL's leading rookie scorer last season, Bedard had gone four games at the IIHF Worlds without recording a point. He had opened the tournament with five goals and an assist in his first three games.

Philipp Kurashev, Bedard's linemate in Chicago most of last season, was held out of Switzerland's lineup in its 3-1 quarterfinal win over Germany in Ostrava, Czechia. Lukas Reichel didn't manage a  shot on goal and was a minus-1 in 19:37 of ice time for the Germans.

The U.S., with Blackhawks defensemen Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic, meets Czechia in the evening quarter-final contest in Prague on Thursday. It wasn't known if Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek or Anaheim's Lukas Dostal would be in nets for the Czechs.