Canada blanks U.S. to win Group A at World Championship

Canada defeated the United States 3-0 on Tuesday, the final day of the preliminary round at the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championship.

With the victory, Canada is the winner of Group A, while the U.S. finishes fourth. The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals.

Canada will now face Switzerland - which finished fourth in Group B - in the quarterfinals.

Matt Murray stopped all 28 shots he faced to earn the shutout, submitting his bid to be Canada's starting netminder in the elimination round. It won't be an easy decision for head coach Alain Vigneault, as fellow goalie Carter Hart posted a 0.70 goals-against average and a .964 save percentage in three games.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kyle Turris, and Jared McCann found twine for Canada, while Mark Stone, Anthony Mantha, and Dante Fabbro reached the scoresheet with assists.

The U.S., meanwhile, will contend with an undefeated Russian team that finished atop Group B. The Americans may have to do so without forward Dylan Larkin, who exited Tuesday's tilt after blocking a shot with a less-than-ideal area of his body.

Russia steamrolled Sweden 7-4 on Tuesday to clinch Group B, with multi-point efforts from Evgeni Malkin and Evgenii Dadonov in the contest.

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