Canada beats China again to set up quarterfinal showdown with Sweden

The Canadian men's hockey team beat China for the second time in three days to advance to the quarterfinals at Beijing 2022.

This time, a 7-2 win in the qualifying round kept Canada's gold-medal hopes alive. Next for the Canadians is a matchup against Sweden on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Canada got off to a shaky start defensively, giving up multiple breakaways and odd-man rushes in the opening minutes. But two first-period power-play goals by Jordan Weal helped calm the Canadians' nerves.

Adam Tambellini topped the scoresheet for Canada with two goals, including one on a penalty shot, and three assists.

Captain Eric Staal scored his first goal in Beijing.

China lost starting goaltender Jeremy Smith to an apparent knee injury on a routine save late in the first period. He saved 15-of-17 shots before exiting.

In earlier qualifying action, Slovakia beat Germany, Denmark edged Latvia, and Switzerland topped the Czech Republic.