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Talbot earns second shutout as Canada rolls over Slovakia 5-0 at hockey worlds.

Saturday, 05.14.2016 / 3:35 PM / News

The Canadian Press

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Talbot earns second shutout as Canada rolls over Slovakia 5-0 at hockey worlds.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Cam Talbot made 18 saves to pick up his second shutout as Canada blanked Slovakia 5-0 on Saturday at the world hockey championship.

The win moved the Canadians to a perfect 5-0 in Group B preliminary-round play in St. Petersburg, Russia, tied with Finland.

Derick Brassard had a goal and an assist for Canada, while Taylor Hall added a power-play goal. Morgan Rielly, Matt Duchene and Mark Scheifele also scored.

Julius Hudacek stopped 28 shots in net for Slovakia.

With a boisterous crowd of supporters cheering them on, the Slovaks pressured Talbot aggressively in the game's early minutes. As in earlier games in the tournament, Talbot weathered the storm until Canada gained momentum that would carry the team through the rest of the game.

Once again, Canada spread the scoring throughout the lineup, starting when Rielly — a defenceman on loan from the Toronto Maple Leafs — threaded a wrist shot from the blue line through a crowd and past Hudacek at 11:30 of the first period. The goal was Rielly's first of the tournament and proved to be the winner.

Duchene added his third of the tournament as Canada outshot the Slovaks 14-4 in the opening frame, then Hall and Scheifele extended the lead to 4-0 in the second. Brassard added his third of the tournament in the third, moving into a tie for second place in the scoring race with nine points, along with Patrik Laine of Finland and Artemi Panarin of Russia.

Hall's goal was his sixth of the tournament, which ties him for the tournament lead in goals with Gustav Nyquist of Sweden. Hall's power-play goal came at 13:56 of the second after he converted a pass from Mark Stone from the top of Hudacek's crease.

With the win, Canada further improved its status as the tournament leader in goal differential, with 30 goals scored and just four allowed through five games. The goals have come on just 164 shots a lofty shooting percentage of over 18 per cent.

Talbot has now given up just three goals in 240 minutes of action, improving his record to 4-0. His two shutouts tie him for the tournament lead with Dominik Furch of the Czech Republic, who has not surrendered a single goal in his two starts.

In earlier action on Saturday in Group B in St. Petersburg, Finland kept its record perfect with a 3-1 win over France and Hungary defeated Belarus 5-2 for its first top-division win at the world championship in 77 years.

In Moscow's Group A, Sweden beat Norway 3-2, Alex Ovechkin picked up an assist in his first game as Russia beat Switzerland 5-1 and Latvia and Kazakhstan were locked into a 1-1 tie.

With two games left on their preliminary-round schedule, Canada is scheduled to practice on Sunday before wrapping up with games against France on Monday and unbeaten Finland on Tuesday.

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