ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Canada secured a place in the quarterfinals of the world ice hockey championship by beating Slovakia 5-0 on Saturday, while Finland and host nation Russia also qualified.
Five different players scored Canada's goals, continuing a run of dominant team displays. There was a goal and an assist for Derick Brassard, who leads the Canadian team with nine points in five games.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot made 18 saves for his team in Canada's second shutout of the championship.
Canada is atop Group B, ahead of Finland on goal difference. There are two groups in the tournament, so the top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals, and two games remain to be played in each group.
The United States is third in Group B and cannot overtake Canada and Finland, which play Tuesday. Slovakia, which was outshot 33-18 Saturday, is fifth.
Finland's fifth win of the tournament was a straightforward 3-1 victory over sixth-place France.
Forward Patrik Laine, a contender for the No. 1 spot in next month's NHL draft, registered a goal and an assist as Finland scored three times in the space of 10 second-period minutes.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored for France on a 5-on-3 in the third period to stop Finland from achieving a second consecutive shutout.
Hungary earned its first win at the world championship in 77 years, beating Belarus 5-2. The win prompted wild celebrations from the players and fans.
In Group A, Russia beat Switzerland 5-1 for its fourth straight win as Alex Ovechkin played his first world championship game since arriving from the NHL playoffs.
Ovechkin assisted Evgeny Kuznetsov for Russia's second goal, but the star was Ivan Telegin with two goals. Simon Moser scored for the Swiss with a little over a minute remaining to deny Russia a second tournament shutout.
"It was hard in my first game. I couldn't score anyhow, though I had a lot of chances. The main thing is we won," Ovechkin said.
Despite eight Swiss penalties and a brief 5-on-3, Russia was scoreless on the power play, and coach Oleg Znarok said the new arrival from the Capitals needed time to acclimatize.
Russia is second in Group A, behind the Czech Republic, the only unbeaten team in the group.
Third-place Sweden recorded its fifth win, beating Norway 3-2, and Gustav Nyquist notched his sixth goal of the tournament.
Norway pulled goaltender Lars Haugen at 3-1 down with three minutes remaining and was rewarded when Andreas Martinsen scored, but could not find another goal to take the game to overtime.
Kazakhstan is relegated from the world championship for next season after a 2-1 loss to Latvia.
