On May 21, 2019, the group stage of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Slovakia ended. Following the results of seven matches played, each team took their places. Some will continue to fight in the playoffs, others leave the tournament, but remain in the elite, and others will be kicked out of the top division next year.
According to the 2019 World Cup regulations, sixteen national teams take part in the tournament. The teams were divided into two groups, eight teams each. Group stage matches in Group A were held in Kosice. Group B members played in Bratislava.
Standings of the 2019 World Cup Group A
In Group A of the 2019 World Cup in hockey, the following favorites stood out: the national teams of Canada, the USA and Finland. The hosts of the tournament, Slovaks and the national team of Germany (vice-champions of the 2018 Olympics) could have accompanied these top teams in the fight for a ticket to the playoffs.
Following the results of seven rounds, the leadership in Group A belongs to the Canadian team. The pioneers of hockey lost only one match to the Finnish team. In the rest of the meetings, the gold contenders won. With 18 points, the Canadians are the first in Group A.
The Finnish team is in second place with 16 points. This team has five wins and two defeats (the game against the US team was lost only in overtime).
The German national team came as a surprise by beating the American stars in one of the most important group stage matches. Thanks to this victory, the Germans climbed to the final third place in the group. They have 15 points to their credit.
Rounding out the top four are the US hockey players. In terms of player selection, this team can qualify for the highest awards, but hockey is an unpredictable game. Losing to Canadians, Slovaks and Germans allowed to gain only 14 points.
The Slovak national team was left without a playoff zone. The hosts of the 2019 World Cup have only 11 points scored. Perhaps, the Slovaks lost the decisive match for the playoffs to the German national team. After that, it became clear that the hosts of the World Cup would not be included in the coveted four.
On the sixth line of the table of group A, the Danes settled with 6 points. The struggle for "survival" in the elite of world hockey unfolded between Great Britain and France. In the seventh round, these teams played against each other. The French, who were considered the favorites, were leading with a score of 3: 0, but sensationally lost to the British in overtime 3: 4. The result allowed the UK hockey players to take 7th place in the table, and the French from the last place are relegated from the top division next year.
Standings of the 2019 World Cup Group B
In Group B, the Russian national team won with a clear advantage, showing one hundred percent result. The Russians have won all seven matches in the group stage with a total goal difference of 36-7.
The second place in the table was taken by the Czech national team, losing only in the game of the third round to the Russian team. With 18 points, the Czechs overtook the Swedish team in the reigning world champions table.
The Swedish team, which is almost entirely made up of NHL players, lost two matches in the group stage to the Czechs and the Russians. As a result, the national team took third place in the group and received an inconvenient seeding in the elimination matches. The Scandinavians have 15 points.
The fourth place, allowing to play in the playoffs, was taken by the Swiss national team in Group B. This team, as expected, lost to the giants, but outplayed all the other members of the group. The Swiss have 12 points.
The Latvian national team fought for the playoffs. However, the Baltic hockey players did not have enough victory over the Swiss. In the decisive face-to-face confrontation, the Latvians lost. As a result, the team scored only 9 points and took 5th place in the group.
The Norwegians secured themselves from relegation to the lower division. This team is in sixth place, beating Italy and Austria.
The struggle to maintain a residence permit in the top division for the next year unfolded in a personal confrontation between Austria and Italy. The Italians won a heroic shootout victory with a score of 4: 3, which allowed the team from the peninsula to take seventh place and remain in the top flight. Austrian hockey players with only one point leave the elite.
