Kent Johnson puts on show as Canada downs Czechia
Team Canada took down Czechia 5-1 at the World Junior Championship on Saturday thanks to a little panache from Kent Johnson.
The Columbus Blue Jackets forward pulled off a lacrosse-style Michigan goal late in the opening frame to give Canada its first lead of the game. Johnson scooped up the puck behind the net, balanced it on his stick, and flipped it past Czech goaltender Tomas Suchanek for his first tally of the tournament.
Forward Logan Stankoven was on the ice for Johnson's jaw-dropping moment.
"Everything happened so quick, it was just like, 'Wow,'" Stankoven told TSN postgame. "You only see that so often, so for him to pull it off on a national stage and in front of all the fans here is pretty cool. It's just a shocking moment, I think, for everyone in the building."
Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron also bagged some bragging rights as a result of the play.
"I actually won the coaches' pool on who was going to be the first guy to do it," he said. "It was between him and (Mason) McTavish."
While Johnson's impressive feat would stand as the game-winner, defenseman Jack Thompson was named Canada's player of the game after notching two assists. Thompson appeared to be in some pain after blocking a shot in the first period, but he ultimately stayed in the contest.
Meanwhile, team captain McTavish, who lit the lamp twice, now paces the tournament with six goals in three matchups.
The tournament hosts didn't have an ideal start to the game. The Canadians received a five-minute power play after Jaroslav Chmelar was handed a game misconduct for boarding fellow New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann, but they weren't the ones who opened the scoring.
Czechia's Martin Rysavy struck shorthanded less than one minute into Canada's power play. The contest continued for a few moments, but a brief review confirmed the puck completely crossed the line.
The Canadians struggled to solve Suchanek early until McTavish finally put his team's 20th shot past the netminder to tie things up. Shortly after, Johnson dazzled with the lacrosse goal.
Ridly Greig and Tyson Foerster also scored, helping the Canadians outshoot the Czechs 57-23.
Suchanek was named Czechia's player of the game due to his outstanding performance during his side's losing effort, while Dylan Garand stood tall in the crease in his second straight start for Canada.
The two teams squared off in December as well, with the Canadians winning the contest 6-3.
Canada, which remains perfect in the tournament, will take on Finland Monday at 6 p.m. ET. Czechia will face Latvia on Sunday.