In the fifth game of the round of 16 series between New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, Swedish forward Carl Hagelin scored the decisive 2-1 goal in overtime which meant that Rangers went through to the quarter finals and the Penguins are out. Soon thereafter, Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby announced that he will be joining Team Canada in the 2015 IIHF World Championships in Czech Republic.
Plenty of NHL-players in the 2015 IIHF Championships
Crosby will be joining a Canadian team with plenty of quality players such as Tyler Seguin and Claude Giroux. Many players probably want to show themself in the national team before the 2016 World Cup of hockey which might be one of the greatest hockey tournaments of all times, with a unique format. Last time Crosby joined Canada for the World Championships was in 2006 where they got eliminated by Sweden who later won the gold medal. Crosby got a nasty cross check by Swedish forward Mika Hannula who is, in theory at least, still suspended for that.
Sweden is also having a good number of players joining the team to the tournament. The Swedish national team ”Three Crowns” beat Russia in two consecutive games with 5-4 and 3-2 (ot) in the last two games before the World Championships. Sweden will start the tournament against home team Czech Republic. Since Vancouver got eliminated by Calgary from the Stanley Cup the other night, many are hoping for the Sedin twins to join the team. Last time the Sedin brothers played with the Swedish national team was in 2013 when Sweden won the gold medal after beating Switzerland in the final.
