ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- The U.S. Men's National Team takes on an unfamiliar foe in Hungary here today in the fifth of seven preliminary round games in the 2016 IIHF Men's World Championship for both teams. Opening faceoff is set for 4:15 p.m. (9:15 a.m. ET) and the game will be streamed live in the U.S. on NBC Sports Live Extra with television coverage beginning at 9:45 a.m. ET on NBCSN.
The U.S. and Hungary have met just once previously and that was all the way back in 1939. That year the tournament was in Basel and Zurich, Switzerland, and the U.S. earned a 3-0 decision over Hungary in the preliminary round. Ed Maki made 45 saves to earn the shutout.
Keith Kincaid (Farmingville, N.Y./New Jersey Devils/Union College) will get the start in goal today for the United States. He has played one previous game in the world championship, that a 28-save effort in a 5-1 loss to Canada in the tournament's opening game on May 6. Kincaid is part of a U.S. team for the first time ever.
Forward Brock Nelson (Warroad, Minn./New York Islanders/University of North Dakota) arrived late this morning and will be in the lineup today. Nelson is playing in the world championship for the third straight year. He led last year's bronze-medal-winning squad in points (10) and goals (6).
NOTES: Auston Matthews (2-3--5), Dylan Larkin (1-4--5) and Frank Vatrano (1-3--4) all enter today's game with three-game point streaks ... Today's game is just the second ever that the U.S. has played on a Friday the 13th. The only other occurrence came on March 13, 1959, when Team USA beat host Czechoslovakia by a 4-2 count in round robin play ... Stan Bowman, a member of the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group, arrives today in St. Petersburg and will be here until May 20. Bowman is the general manager of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks ... Ray Shero, also a member of the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group and the GM of the New Jersey Devils, arrived on May 11 and is here until the end of the tournament ... Team USA is currently tied with Slovakia for third place in Group B with all eight teams having played four games. The top four teams in the group advance to the quarterfinals, which are set for May 19.
Date | Opponent | Time (Local/ET) |
---|---|---|
May 3 | Finland (exhibition) | L, 2-3 OT |
May 6 | Canada | L, 1-5 |
May 7 | Belarus | W, 6-3 |
May 9 | Finland | L, 2-3 |
May 12 | France | W, 4-0 |
May 13 | Hungary | W, 5-1 |
May 15 | Germany | L, 2-3 |
May 17 | Slovakia | L, 2-3 OT |
May 19 | Czech Republic (quarterfinal) | W, 2-1 SO |
May 21 | Canada Semifinals |
L, 3-4 |
May 22 | Russia Bronze Medal Game |
L, 2-7 |