World Junior 2015: Sweden’s Oskar Lindblom nets a hat trick; Day 6’s 3 Stars
Buzzing The Net's Three Stars from Day 6 of the World Junior Hockey Championship on Tuesday:
No. 1 Star: Oskar Lindblom, Sweden
With the game knotted at one after the opening frame, Lindblom went to town on the man advantage to ensure Sweden would finish its round-robin action undefeated. He scored three power-play markers, all of which were assisted by Toronto Maple Leafs first-rounder William Nylander, in just under 12 minutes in a 5-1 win over Switzerland.
The Philadelphia Flyers prospect got the ball rolling at the 3:27 mark in the second period when he scored a one-timer off a slick Nylander pass. He went on to put away a rebound from a Robert Hagg shot and tipped a Gustav Forsberg slapper to complete his hat trick.
The three-point efforts from Lindblom (3G-4A) and Nylander (2G-5A) gives them seven points apiece in the tourney. They sit only behind Canada’s Sam Reinhart (3G-5A) in points.
No. 2 Star: Max Domi, Canada
The Arizona Coyotes first-round pick brought a lot of energy to the ice and turned it into results against the United States. He scored Canada’s first goal of the game when Reinhart picked up his rebound and fed him a short pass that he fired into the back of the net. He wrapped up the game’s scoring in the last minute of play when he netted Canada’s second empty-netter in the 5-3 contest.
Reinhart, a Buffalo Sabres first-round pick, plays a much quieter style than his linemate, but he makes just as big of an impact. He scored Canada’s first empty-net goal and notched helpers on both of Domi’s markers.
No. 3 Star: David Pastrnak, Czech Republic
In a must-win game against Russia, Pastrnak came up big for the Czech Republic to lead them to a 4-1 victory. The Boston Bruins draft pick notched the first assist on his club’s first three goals. He got going just over 11 minutes into the first period when he set up Patrik Zdrahal with a nice pass. He found Zdrahal for his second of the night in the final frame when he hit him on a breakaway pass following setting up a Pavel Zacha goal in the second period.
It was Pastrnak’s second three-point effort in as many games. He lit the lamp once and notched two assists against Denmark on Dec. 29.
Potent notables: Vancouver Canucks pick Thatcher Demko turned away 38 of 41 shots and Detroit Red Wings first-rounder Dylan Larkin netted two goals for the States... St. Louis Blues prospect Ville Husso posted a 24-save shutout while Kevin Reich made 36 saves in Finland's 2-0 win against Germany.
Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen
