RIGA, Latvia — Andrew Mangiapane had two goals and four points as resurgent Canada defeated winless Italy 7-1 on Sunday at the world hockey championships to move into a fourth-place tie in Group B.
Team Canada coach Gerrard Gallant, after his team fell to 0-3 to open the tournament, vowed he’d stick with the plan, saying “we’ve played good hockey so far. We just haven’t gotten the results.”
And it appears the free-agent coach, who has already interviewed with the New York Rangers and should receive consideration for other open positions when he returns to North America, was right. The Canadians, who scored just two goals in their first three games, have now won three straight and will finish the preliminary round Tuesday against Finland.
The top four in each group advance to the quarterfinals.
Though his Calgary Flames did not make the Stanley Cup playoffs, Mangiapane did have a breakout season, and it appears his momentum has shifted over to the worlds. He played in all 56 games, often gaining top-line minutes for Calgary, finishing with 18 goals and 32 points.
Adam Henrique added a goal and two assists, Max Comtois, Troy Stecher, Brandon Pirri and Cole Perfetti also scored and Connor Brown had four assists for Canada. Adin Hill made 13 saves, allowing only Angelo Miceli’s goal.
Henrique, a veteran forward for the Anaheim Ducks, has experienced a resurgence in the tournament. Canada’s captain, who had two goals and an assist vs. Norway last Wednesday, was waived by Anaheim during the season, only to return to the Ducks when no other NHL team put in a claim on him.
In the other Group B game, Anton Lundell scored with four seconds left in overtime to give Finland a 3-2 victory over Latvia. Finland leads the group with 15 points, three more than the United States. Kazakhstan is third with 10, and Canada, Germany and Latvia each have nine.
Lundell’s tally was set up off a slick, back pass from Olli Maatta, a veteran defenseman coming off a tough season with the Los Angeles Kings. Traded by the Chicago Blackhawks in time for this season, Maatta struggled with his new team, finishing with just four points. He was a minus-8 as the Kings missed the postseason. Perhaps a critical assist in overtime for his country will help spark a turnaround for the 26-year-old.
The United States will return to play Monday against Germany and finish group play Tuesday against Italy.
In Group A, Victor Olofsson broke a tie on a power play with 8:22 left to help Sweden beat Slovakia 3-1. Joel Vermin had two goals and an assist in Switzerland’s 6-0 victory over Belarus.
Slovakia, Russia and Switzerland top the group with 12 points each. Sweden is fourth with nine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.