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These Detroit Red Wings are playing in quarterfinals at 2022 World Championships

helene st. james, detroit free press
·2 min read

The quarterfinals at the World Championships are set, with Detroit Red Wings players in starring roles.

Pius Suter used his third goal of the tournament in Finland to help Switzerland to a 4-3 victory Tuesday over Moritz Seider's Germany, securing the Swiss the top spot in Group A and a quarterfinal date opposite the U.S., where former Wings coach Jeff Blashill is an assistant. Former Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin is the U.S. GM.

Suter, a second-line forward for the Wings, has had an excellent World Championship, with eight points in seven games. The Swiss next play Thursday in Helsinki.

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Switzerland's forward Pius Suter celebrates scoring with his teammates during the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships preliminary round group A match between Canada and Switzerland in Helsinki, Finland, on May 21, 2022.
Switzerland's forward Pius Suter celebrates scoring with his teammates during the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships preliminary round group A match between Canada and Switzerland in Helsinki, Finland, on May 21, 2022.

Likewise, Seider has had a good tournament, with one goal and five assists in seven games. The Wings' top defenseman posted 50 points in his rookie season and is a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Germany's next game is Thursday against Czechia, which pits him against Wings teammates Jakub Vrana and Filip Hronek. Vrana has one goal in the tourney; Hronek has no points.

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Former Wings forward Tomas Tatar captained Slovakia into a quarterfinal spot with two goals in a 7-1 victory over Denmark and former Wings forward Frans Nielsen. That sets up Slovakia for a quarterfinal against host Finland Thursday in Tampere. Finland's roster includes former Wings forward Valtteri Filppula.

Sweden plays Canada in the other quarterfinal in Tampere. Sweden's Magnus Hellberg signed with the Wings the last month of the season and won his only appearance, in the season finale. Hellberg has spent the past five seasons in the KHL and is angling to be in the NHL next season. He has a 1.47 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in four games.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail. 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings Moritz Seider, Pius Suter advance to QFs at Worlds