A daily update of the best tweets, photos and video of the Predators nine representatives at the 2015 IIHF World Championship.

Sunday, May 17 - Bronze Medal Game

Team USA and three Predators representatives (Seth Jones, Jimmy Vesey and Steve Moses) won bronze at the 2015 World Championship with a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic.

The Americans bounced back from a loss to Russia on Saturday to claim their second medal at the Worlds in the last three years (also won bronze in 2013). For Moses, Jones and Vesey (who might all suit up in Preds Gold at some point during the 2015-16 season) it was their first time taking home medals from the tournament. Jones was again a key part in the United States game plan, recording the second-most minutes (21:09) and skating as a plus-2 on the day.



The shutout loss was the Czechs' second in as many days as they lost to the Worlds eventual gold-medal winner, Canada, on Saturday.

Charlie Coyle buries it as @USAHockey wins bronze at the 2015 #IIHFWorlds. RT to celebrate the third place finish! https://t.co/I1dhBprKpT — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 17, 2015

Awesome group of guys and an honor to win bronze medal with team USA at world champs pic.twitter.com/wWo8piwocJ — Steve Moses (@StevieMoses22) May 17, 2015

FINAL: Team USA claims bronze by blanking the Czech Republic 3-0 at the 2015 Men's World Championship! #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/CAbQOXkf0Z — USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 17, 2015

Shout out to Team USA @2015IIHFWorlds for winning Bronze medal! Awesome! Congrats! @seth_jones3 — Phil Housley (@philhousley6) May 17, 2015

Bronze medal game is not over, but USA's three best players of the tournament as chosen by team: Connor Hellebuyck, Seth Jones, Trevor Lewis — Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) May 17, 2015

Team USA wins bronze at worlds. Big accomplishment with how young that team was. Few NHL stars. — James Mirtle (@mirtle) May 17, 2015

Nice to win a bronze medal with #Faulker at the World Championships. #USA A photo posted by Seth Jones (@seth_jones) on May 17, 2015 at 10:12am PDT

Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne was named the tournament's top goaltender following the Gold Medal Game.

Tournament's Best Goalie: Pekka Rinne, D-man: Brent Burns; Forward: Jason Spezza #CANvsRUS #IIHFWorlds — 2015 IIHF Worlds (@2015IIHFWorlds) May 17, 2015

Saturday, May 16 - Semifinals

Final: Russia 4, USA 0



A scoreless tie lasted late into regulation, but a goal by Sergei Mozyakin in the first half of the third period blew open the game for Russia versus Team USA and the three remaining Preds representatives at the World Championship. Shortly after Mozyakin's tally, the Russians poured on three more scores over the next 11 minutes.

Watch @Ovi8 perform like he's a #IIHFWorlds veteran. He makes no mistake on this goal to send Russia to the final! https://t.co/6gTaIKSvB9 — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 16, 2015

Seth Jones, Steve Moses and Jimmy Vesey guided the United States to the semifinals and the top seed in Group B, but the Americans could not defeat the Russians for a second time when it mattered most. USA will settle for a chance at bronze instead of gold with a meeting with the Czech Republic on Sunday (at 9:15 a.m. CT).

Throughout the contest, Preds prospect Jimmy Vesey head manned the USA’s attack, picking up several glorious scoring chances, but ultimately, neither he nor the rest of the Americans could solve Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets).

11+ minutes into this game and Jimmy Vesey is on the hunt for a goal...had three great opportunities so far. USA to the PP, 0-0 #IIHFWorlds — Julie Robenhymer (@JulieRobenhymer) May 16, 2015

How has Jimmy Vesey not scored a goal yet today? #IIHFWorlds #Preds — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 16, 2015

Held of the scoreboard for the opening 40 minutes, the USA still entered the third with a strong chance to advance, but Bobrovsky was simply too much for the young American squad.

A strong 3rd period leads the Russians past USA. #Preds Jones, Vesey and Moses will play the Czech Republic for bronze tomorrow. #IIHFWorlds — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 16, 2015

USA falls to RUS in semifinals, will take on CZE for bronze tomorrow at 10:15 am ET #2015MWC: http://t.co/VFNfTB7GON pic.twitter.com/uoQ52Bm43f — USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 16, 2015

Top 3 Players for USA as selected by the coaches: Connor Hellebuych, Seth Jones and Trevor Lewis. — Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) May 16, 2015

Thursday, May 14 - Quarterfinals

Final: USA 3, Switzerland 1

Five Nashville Predators faced off in the first game of the 2015 World Championship quarterfinals (USA: Seth Jones, Jimmy Vesey, Steve Moses; Switzerland: Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala). The top-ranked squad in Group B, the United States hosted the offensively challenged Swiss, but it was Josi that tallied the contest's opening goal in the first period off an incredible individual effort:

Gorgeous goal by Roman Josi as the Swiss take 1-0 lead on Team USA at the Worlds! — Pete Weber (@PeteWeberSports) May 14, 2015

Vesey and Jones collected the primary assists on two USA goals in the middle period, bringing the Preds' point total in the game to three and the score to 2-1.

#Preds Jimmy Vesey with the assist as USA ties the game at 1. #IIHFWorlds — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 14, 2015

Jimmy Vesey has gotten better with each game at Worlds. Plays with speed, using his body better. Finishing plays, too. — Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) May 14, 2015

GIF: Ben Smith ties the game for USA on a nice feed from Vesey pic.twitter.com/jomxI140Sn — Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 14, 2015

Seth Jones with a bomb from the point, tipped by Coyle creating havoc in front of the crease. 2-1 USA with 8:30 left in 2nd #IIHFWorlds — Julie Robenhymer (@JulieRobenhymer) May 14, 2015

Halfway through the third frame, Jake Gardiner stretched the Americans lead to 3-1 with a point shot through traffic, and USA hung on to advance to the semifinals. Josi and Fiala's run at the Worlds comes to an end.

#USA beats #Switzerland 3-1 they will move on to the semi finals #IIHFWorlds — SiriusXM NHL Network (@SiriusXMNHL) May 14, 2015

Final: Russia 5, Sweden 3

Two more Preds reps jumped into the quarterfinals action when Filip Forsberg, Mattias Ekholm and Sweden clashed with Russia. The Swedes were overrun in the contest's first 21 minutes, falling behind 3-0.

Filip Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm in big trouble, down 3-0 to Russia in the #IIHFWorlds quarterfinals. #Preds — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 14, 2015

John Klingberg put Sweden on the board before the second intermission horn and started quite a run for Tre Kronor. After an Anton Lander goal, Ekholm assisted on Loui Eriksson's score to even the game at 3-3 with roughly five minutes to play.

Loui Eriksson tied the game for a brief moment pic.twitter.com/zkLJGzK9jj — Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 14, 2015

But then the Russians answered right back:

Malkin restores Russia's lead as his shot goes in off of Ekman-Larsson's skate pic.twitter.com/IiPHFRjodX — Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 14, 2015

An empty netter sealed the win for Russia and concluded Forsberg and Ekholm's time in the Czech Republic. No. 9 for Nashville finished with eight goals in eight games played, tied for the most by any skater.

GOAL! and GAME OVER! Russia defeats Sweden 5-3 to advance to the semi-finals where they will take on @usahockey #IIHFWorlds. — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 14, 2015

Final: Czech Republic 5, Finland 3

Unfortunately, more bad news for Preds fans was still to come as Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros became the fifth and sixth Nashville players to be eliminated from the 2015 World Championship.

The Finns entered the third period down a goal, and like Sweden, were able to knot the game late thanks to Alex Barkov's goal:

GIF: Barkov ties the game for Finland pic.twitter.com/KqEaI5q5Rl — Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 14, 2015

Also similar to the Sweden and Russia game, the "road" team answered right back. Who else but the ageless wonder, Jaromir Jagr.

.@68Jagr is a hero again. How does he do it? 2 goals including this game-winner as they take on @HockeyCanada next. https://t.co/KG6ar2cRJw — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 14, 2015

Want to feel old? Jagr has 35 career goals at the #IIHFWorlds his first goal was scored 25 years ago in 1990 pic.twitter.com/MrZ9YBB1UW — SiriusXM NHL Network (@SiriusXMNHL) May 14, 2015

Rinne finished with 27 saves in the loss. The defeat was his first since Finland's initial game of the tournament on May 1 (versus USA).

In the end, three of nine Predators players will advance to the semifinals, which will be played on Saturday. All a part of Team USA, Seth Jones, Jimmy Vesey and Steve Moses will take on Russia at 12:15 p.m. (CT). The game can be viewed via NBCSN's live stream .

3 #Preds reps move onto the semifinals, while 6 are sent home. Jones, Vesey and Moses will skate with Team USA vs. Russia on Saturday. — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 14, 2015

Pekka Rinne, Juuse Saros, Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala, Filip Forsberg & Mattias Ekholm all saw their #IIHFWorlds tournaments end today. #Preds — Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) May 14, 2015

Tuesday, May 12

The final two games of the Preliminary Round both required shootouts to determine the winners with Finland and and the Czech Republic claiming wins over Russia and Switzerland respectively. The conclusion of the "group" section of play means the quarterfinals look like this:

Seed: Team: Team: Schedule: A4 vs. B1 Switzerland (Fiala, Josi) USA (Jones, Moses, Vesey) Thursday, 8:15 AM CT B4 vs. A1 Belarus Canada Thursday, 9:15 AM CT B3 vs. A2 Russia Sweden (Ekholm, Forsberg) Thursday, 12:15 PM CT A3 vs. B2 Czech Republic Finland (Rinne, Saros) Thursday, 1:15 PM CT

In

Note: You can watch all of the quarterfinals action via NBC Sports, here .



In the last contest of the Preliminary Round for both teams, the United States was hoping to clinch first place in Group B with a win against Slovakia. Mission accomplished.

The USA raced out to a roaring start by tallying three times in the opening 21 minutes and chasing Jan Laco from the Slovakian cage. Seth Jones scored his first goal of the tournament off a backdoor feed from Jack Eichel on the power play:

GIF: Jack Eichel with a silver platter dish to Seth Jones. Gorgeous. pic.twitter.com/FMrbzHhR4I — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 12, 2015

A roller coaster second period started with the USA taking a 3-0 lead and then watching as Slovakia netted four consecutive goals in a 12-minute span to wrest away the Americans' advantage. Charlie Coyle (Minnesota Wild) finally stopped the opposition's run by pulling the USA even again in the final minute of the middle frame.

No goals through the contest's final 20 minutes set up this finish from Eichel in overtime:

GIF: Jack Eichel helps USA clinch their group with overtime winner over Slovakia pic.twitter.com/pORINNOaBM — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 12, 2015

FINAL: Team USA tops Slovakia 5-4, clinches top spot in Group B at #2015MWC. Eichel gets the game-winning goal in OT. pic.twitter.com/0fX7gLjijE — USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 12, 2015

U.S.A. has clinched first place in Group B. #IIHFWorlds and will play Switzerland in the quarter-finals. — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 12, 2015

Note: Preds forward Steve Moses returned to game action after missing the last three United States contests with an injury.

Following the USA's OT win, four Preds reps took to the ice for their final action of the Preliminary Round - with all their positions in the quarterfinals already locked in. Switzerland (Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala) was locked into the fourth slot in Group A and a matchup with the United States, but Finland (Pekka Rinne, Juuse Saros) could improve their position from No. 3 to No. 2 with a win over Russia.

That's just what the Finns did with a 3-2 shootout victory and Rinne stopping 30 shots for his fifth win of the tournament.

Watch as Joonas Donskoi scores to cap a comeback victory for Finland over Russia. Share with a fan of @Leijonat https://t.co/euc1VRi6u6 — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 12, 2015

The Swiss ended up on the wrong end of their shootout (2-1 loss), but did receive Fiala's first goal of the tournament.

POWER-PLAY GOAL! Kevin Fiala scores to put the Swiss up 1-0 on the Czechs late in the first period. #IIHFWorlds. — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 12, 2015

Wednesday represents a day off for the nine Preds at the 2015 Worlds with quarterfinals action beginning on Thursday with Jones and Josi squaring off at 8:15 a.m. (CT).

Monday, May 11

At the 2015 World Championship, the only thing really keeping pace with Pekka Rinne's shutout streak has been Filip Forsberg's goal scoring prowess. On the same day that the Predators goalie set the World Championship record for a shutout span (nearly four total games in a row), Forsberg lit the lamp twice more for his seventh and eighth markers of the tournament. The gaudy total has the 20-year-old two scores ahead of the entire field for the most goals tallied at the Worlds (seven games played).

Another 2 goals by Filip Forsberg and his #UltraTacks stick at the @2015IIHFWorlds! https://t.co/oRQNNHVwOU — CCM Hockey (@CCMHockey) May 11, 2015

Pekka Rinne with the IIHF World Championships shutout record and Forsberg potted another two goals. All around good day for #Preds players — Kristopher Martel (@kmartel_sports) May 11, 2015

Forsberg's pair of goals on Monday lifted the Swedes to a 4-2 win over France in Tre Kronor's final game before the quarterfinals. The round of eight, that is set to begin play on Thursday, currently has Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm pitted against Pekka Rinne and Team Finland.

Earlier in the day, Pekka Rinne and the Finns picked up a dramatic shootout victory over Belarus while the Preds goalie claimed an impressive personal accomplishment along the way.

Rinne and Nashville goalie prospect Juuse Saros entered Monday's contest with a shutout streak of 251:56, a total that easily bested the combined blank sheet record of 209:02 set by Sweden in 1957 (58 years ago). After a spotless first period against Belarus, Rinne also set the individual shutout record with over 10 periods of perfect play.

#Preds Pekka Rinne has set a new #IIHFWorlds shutout streak record with 211:56. (Previously Lasak: 206:26 set in ’04) pic.twitter.com/nTTUO3oM8r — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 11, 2015

The netminder's shutout stretch would eventually carry into the third period:

.@PredsNHL's Pekka Rinne now has the tournament record! (Photo: Michal Eger) pic.twitter.com/SDDEUKOaRT — 2015 IIHF Worlds (@2015IIHFWorlds) May 11, 2015

Pekka Rinne sets a new shootout record (237:05) at the #IIHFWorlds. Share with a fan of @leijonat https://t.co/CgbDJmWgq3 — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 11, 2015

Oh and this save happened too:

hockey is neat pic.twitter.com/PZPaqRSd3e — TV's Trevor Bort (@trevor_0) May 11, 2015

The 32-year-old Kempele, Finland, native was eventually beaten five minutes into the third.

Pekka Rinne's shutout streak is over. Evgeni Kovyrshin does the impossible. Top right corner. #IIHFWorlds — Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisNHL) May 11, 2015

Finland's first goal given up in nearly five consecutive contests served as a rallying point for the team, however, as the Finns notched the next two goals to carry a 2-1 advantage into the final minute of regulation. With Belarus netminder Vitali Koval on the bench for an extra attacker, former Pred Sergei Kostitsyn helped set up the game-tying goal with 31 ticks remaining.

Following a scoreless overtime, the Finns connected on all three of their shootout attempts for a 3-2 win and two points that put them a single point back of Group B's leader: the United States.

Finland scores on all three shootout attempts. Jussi Jokinen scores the last one. Finland defeats Belarus 3-2. #IIHFWorlds. — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 11, 2015

And here it is, #FINvBLR summary. Hope you enjoyed the game! #IIHFWorlds (Foto: Michal Eger / ČSLH) pic.twitter.com/YXbFZZqIms — 2015 IIHF Worlds (@2015IIHFWorlds) May 11, 2015

Sunday, May 10

The Americans moved back into the top spot in Group B with a 3-1 win versus Slovenia, the group's bottom dweller.

Preds forward Steve Moses was absent for the third consecutive contest due to injury, while Seth Jones and Jimmy Vesey picked up a combined four shots but were held off the score sheet. Jones turned in a plus-2 rating on the day and saw Brock Nelson (New York Islanders) collect three points to carry the USA to victory.

Sunday's win pushed the Americans to 15 points, and with one game remaining in the Preliminary Round, the USA clinched their spot in the quarterfinals that begin on Thursday.

Nelson, Hellebuyck lead USA to another World Championship win, relegate Slovenia http://t.co/7mL6g47K7C pic.twitter.com/kKmD9V8vXd — theScore NHL (@theScoreNHL) May 10, 2015

Brock Nelson thought he had a hat trick, but Jack Eichel accidentally takes it away from him. @USAHockey wins 3-1 https://t.co/juujIomQaw — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 10, 2015

U.S. tops Slovenia, 3-1, to punch ticket to Men's Worlds quarterfinals: http://t.co/cFAIvDcJtG pic.twitter.com/qgbFfvPNoe — USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 10, 2015

The Swiss ended a streak of putting up a single goal in four contests in a row, but even lighting the lamp twice on Sunday wasn't nearly enough as the Canadians powered past Switzerland 7-2.

Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala and the Swiss find themselves locked into the fourth spot in Group A, a position which means they will claim the group's final ticket to the quarterfinals.

Switzerland is now locked into the fourth seed in Group A and will travel to Ostrava to face top seed in Group B...presently USA #IIHFWorlds — Julie Robenhymer (@JulieRobenhymer) May 10, 2015

Canada is number 1 with a bullet, like this shot from Nathan MacKinnon's shot to help Canada clinch 1st in group 'A' https://t.co/qQqKhrKG81 — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 10, 2015

Fiala was forced to temporarily leave the loss to Canada, but was able to return later.

Kevin Fiala has gone to the Swiss change room after getting clobbered by Dan Hamius. #IIHFWorlds — Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisNHL) May 10, 2015

Saturday, May 9

Four Predators faced off against one another to conclude play on Saturday as Sweden took down Switzerland 2-1 in overtime.

Filip Forsberg played the role of hero as he beat out Nashville teammate Roman Josi for a lose puck and swatted the biscuit into the cage for the game winner. The tally was the winger's sixth of the tournament, putting him alone in first as the Worlds' leading goal scorer.

Filip Forsberg just can't stop scoring goals, including this overtime winner. Celebrate with a fan of @Trekronorse https://t.co/0jhZWVLnWq — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 9, 2015

Supporting our teammates @forsbergfilip @matekh @rjosi90 and Kevin Fiala with my buddy @mliambas . #letsgopreds A photo posted by Marek Mazanec (@mazi222) on May 9, 2015 at 11:47am PDT

"Shutout victory; shutout victory; shutout victory; shutout victory;" is how the scorecard reads for Finland in their last four contests at the World Championship. Preds prospect Juuse Saros went between the pipes on Saturday for his first action of the tournament and continued Pekka Rinne's shutout streak of three-straight contests for the Finns to a fourth game.

Even after just two periods of scoreless hockey, the tandem of Preds goalies had combined for something pretty special, besting a combined shutout streak set by Sweden 58 years ago (in 1957).

#Preds goalies Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros have a shutout streak of 231:56, topping the record of 209:02 set in 1957. pic.twitter.com/l0hevVP2QN — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 9, 2015

Saros wasn't done there, however, as he kept the door shut through the final 20 minutes of regulation and received three goals in support for a 22-save blank sheet in a 3-0 triumph over Slovakia.

Finland defeats Slovakia 3-0, 4 consecutive shutouts for the Finns, courtesy of Pekka Rinne (3 SO) & Juuse Saros (1 SO). #IIHFWorlds #Preds — Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) May 9, 2015

Joonas Donskoi displays incredible hand-eye coordination for the game-winner. Tag a supporter of @leijonat. https://t.co/m9195L5yys — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 9, 2015

Friday, May 8

With Steve Moses still sidelined with a lower-body injury, Seth Jones and Jimmy Vesey were the only two Preds in action on Friday. The Americans pulled out a bounce-back, 1-0 win over Denmark with Jones logging a team-high 23:30 of time on ice. Nashville's 20-year-old blueliner was voted the game's top performer and was on the ice for the contest's only score that gave the United States a fourth victory at the 2015 World Championship.

Vesey, Jones and the Americans again lead Group B and have a day off until they take the ice on Sunday versus Slovakia.

USA puts up 41 shots on Denmark and wins 1-0 to take over as Group B leader with 12 points. Seth Jones is USA Player of the Game #IIHFWorlds — Julie Robenhymer (@JulieRobenhymer) May 8, 2015

Brock Nelson 'gift-wraps' the United States to a 1-0 win over Denmark. Retweet for a fan of @USAHockey #IIHFWorlds. https://t.co/7mCB7NckOT — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 8, 2015

FINAL: U.S. trumps Denmark 1-0. Brock Nelson with the only goal of the game. Hellebuyck with the shutout. SOG 41-21 U.S. #IIHFWorlds — USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 8, 2015

Thursday, May 7

Pekka Rinne’s shutout streak stretched to three consecutive games following a 13-save performance against Slovakia on Thursday. The Finnish netminder has blank sheets in nearly half of his games played the last two years at the Worlds with six shutouts in 13 contests.



Rinne sports a 1.01 goals-against average and a trio of shutouts at the 2015 tournament, both of which are tops among goaltenders.

Pekka Rinne’s 1.01 GAA is tops among goalies (3+ gp) and his .946 S% is third (among goalies w/ 3+ gp). #Suomi #Preds #IIHFWorlds — Alexis W. (@Ali44) May 7, 2015

A scary moment for Mattias Ekholm defined the Swede’s 4-3 win over Germany. While skating across the Germans’ blue line, the D-man appeared to take a high hit from Stephan Daschner. The 24-year-old left the ice while Daschner received a major penalty (interference) and a game misconduct on the play.

Video of Mattias Ekholm getting hit in the head. Tons of blood. #IIHFWorlds #Preds https://t.co/DowBD4G0R7 — Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisNHL) May 7, 2015

Mattias Ekholm s’est fait ramasser par un Allemand au championnat mondial → http://t.co/H5ZI5bbcQ5 pic.twitter.com/u8Rrwkem7l — 25stanley (@25stanley) May 7, 2015

Mattias Ekholm of Sweden, who lost some blood after getting hit in the 1st, is back playing, wearing 54 (his usual # is 14). — Nicholas Garcia (@ngtaria_iihffan) May 7, 2015

Artur Gavrus scores this beauty as Belarus defeats the United States 5-2. Share this historic win with a Belarus fan https://t.co/7GGTjZ4PhX — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 7, 2015

Wednesday, May 6

Fortunately, and somewhat incredibly, Ekholm was able to return to the game for the second period. Oh hockey players:Off to their first 3-0 start at the World Championship in nearly 20 years, Team USA lost to Belarus for the initial time in either nation's history. Preds forward Steve Moses did not play in the contest due to injury and is doubtful for Friday’s tilt versus Denmark.Seth Jones and Jimmy Vesey were held off the scoresheet in the 5-2 defeat, with Vesey’s backhand off a breakaway being denied by Kevin Lalande in the second frame.

What began with such promise for Team Sweden, along with Filip Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm, ended badly in a 6-4 loss to Canada. In the first period, Forsberg capped off a dominating opening frame for Tre Kronor by patiently cutting toward the slot and firing a rocket of a wrister for a 3-0 lead.

GOAL! Filip Forsberg with his 5th goal of the tournament and Sweden leads Canada 3-0! #IIHFWorlds — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 6, 2015

The score was Forsberg's fifth of the tournament, a tally that temporarily put him all alone in the goal-scoring lead at the 2015 Worlds. The winger's scoring lead and his team's advantage on the scoreboard would not last, however. Taylor Hall (Edmonton Oilers) tallied on a penalty shot to cut the Swedes lead to 3-2 and tie Forsberg in goals scored (five), and eventually the Canadians pulled away in the third.

Förlust mot CAN med 4-6 (3-0,1-3,0-3). Målskyttar SWE:#58 Lander, #49 Rask, #9 Forsberg och #45 Möller. #twittpuck pic.twitter.com/NQuLxvmySW — Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) May 6, 2015

But hey, at least the Preds' leading scorer in 2014-15 kept throwing his patent-pending reverse checks:

Filip Forsberg with shades of Peter Forsberg... https://t.co/6O3Zf0vVSn — Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) May 6, 2015

Wednesday also saw poor results for the other two Preds representatives in action at the World Championship.

More third period offense was enough to tie the game for Switzerland, but unable to muster any additional attack, Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala and the Swiss fell 2-1 in overtime to Latvia. Group A's last-placed team, Latvia's OT win gives them a small amount of hope of advancing to the quarterfinals. The Swiss remain in the group's Top Three with eight points earned at the tournament.

The Latvians rejoice as Kaspars Daugavins grabs the OT winner. Share with a friend of Latvia to celebrate the win! https://t.co/aUYiqmWmO5 — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 6, 2015

Tuesday, May 5:

Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala picked up a dramatic 1-0 victory in a must-win versus Germany. The only Preds in action on Tuesday, Josi and Fiala were both held off the score sheet but watched Denis Hollenstein tally the game's only marker with under eight minutes remaining in regulation. The three points earned put the Swiss solidly in Group A's Top Four, a position they'll need to hold in order to advance to the quarterfinals, which begin next week.

Denis Hollenstein scores the only goal as Switzerland blank Germany 1-0. Celebrate by sharing with a Swiss fan. https://t.co/xvWR1wfKV6 — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 5, 2015

Wednesday promises to be a day filled with more exciting action, as not only are Josi and Fiala back on the ice (versus Latvia), but Filip Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm (and Team Sweden) will take on Canada in a 1-2 matchup of the top squads in Group A.

Monday, May 4:

Team Sweden's incredible offensive output continued on Monday as the team netted eight goals in a 8-1 win over Latvia. Filip Forsberg remained red hot, adding a goal to go with his four points the day before.

No. 9's tally came on a penalty shot as the winger went upstairs on Edgars Masalskis while one-on-one with the netminder.

GOAL! Filip Forsberg scores on a penalty shot and Sweden restores the two-goal lead. 3-1 Sweden. 6:57 to go in the 2nd period. #IIHFWorlds — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 4, 2015

#FilipForsberg continues his hot streak by scoring on a penalty shot versus Latvia #teamsweden #iihf2015 pic.twitter.com/4R5wDOkX1v — Igor Alesenko (@IgorAlesenko) May 5, 2015

Mattias Ekholm collected an assist for the second-straight contest.

Dalarna, Nashville och #TreKronor! Forsberg och Ekholm värmer upp tillsammans och har en del gemensamt! @PredsNHL pic.twitter.com/LXgI18ptUa — Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) May 4, 2015

Preds representatives Seth Jones, Jimmy Vesey and Steve Moses paced the Americans to their third victory in as many tries with a 4-2 triumph over Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets) and the Russians.

Jones dished out two helpers on the Americans' first two scores.

Team USA beats defending champion Russia in IIHF World Championship group play, 4-2. U.S. has now won 3 in a row. pic.twitter.com/tJMLNeCpr9 — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 4, 2015

Trevor Lewis beats Sergei Bobrovsky and helps USA defeat Russia 4-2. Share with a fan of @USAHockey. #IIHFWorlds https://t.co/qo3E9g4353 — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 4, 2015

U.S. stays hot, beats loaded Russian team at World Hockey Championship http://t.co/N8VRoMTwV2 pic.twitter.com/PauGYM8fVl — NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) May 4, 2015

A day after recording his first shutout of the tournament, Pekka Rinne made 20 more saves for his second-straight blank sheet in a 5-0 Finland win over Norway. Rinne, the 2014 MVP of the tournament, now has two shutouts in three games played after falling 5-1 to USA in both teams' initial game at the World Championship.

Over the last 2 years at #IIHFWorlds, Pekka Rinne has played 12 games and recorded 5 shutouts with a .930 save %. pic.twitter.com/iZoeq60EZx — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 4, 2015

Pekka Rinne with his second consecutive shutout for Finland at the #IIHFWorlds, this time in a 5-0 W over Norway. 20 saves for Peks. #Preds — Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) May 4, 2015

Sunday, May 3:

While many of us were still asleep back in Middle Tennessee, Filip Forsberg was doing what he does best: scoring goals - many, many goals.

We're just waking up here in #Nashville, but Filip Forsberg already has a hat trick today at #IIHFWorlds. #Preds #TreKronor — Alexis W. (@Ali44) May 3, 2015

Filip Forsberg with 3 goals for Sweden. Share with a Swedish fan who likes hat tricks #IIHFWorlds https://t.co/IrNcYgGCKq — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 3, 2015

Filip Forsberg's hatty today (all goals) http://t.co/CAhfcDae37 — Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) May 3, 2015

The 6-1 triumph over Austria featured a four-point performance for the Preds first-year forward and an assist for Mattias Ekholm.



Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne took matters into his own hands in order to guide Team Finland to their first win at the 2015 Worlds. The 32-year-old Kempe, Finland, native notched 16 saves to register a shutout versus Denmark.

Pekka Rinne got a shutout tonight against Denmark #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/0TCAMnYxPt — 2015 IIHF Worlds (@2015IIHFWorlds) May 3, 2015

Later in the day, Seth Jones again anchored the United States' blue line, logging the team's second most time on ice with 23:14.

Team Switzerland rebounded from an opening game loss by beating France and again got offensive help from Kevin Fiala (0g,1a) and Roman Josi (1g,1a).

Saturday, May 2:

Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala waited until Saturday to log their first game action, falling 4-3 to the Austrians despite the pair of Swiss Preds each collecting assists.

So reist die Nati heute. Vom Bus direkt aufs Eis. #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/4xSNxPIIvu — Swiss Ice Hockey (@SwissIceHockey) May 1, 2015

Friday, May 1:

With nine Nashville Predators taking part in the 2015 IIHF World Championship it didn't take long at all for some of them to face off at opposite ends of the ice. On Friday, the United States and Finland helped open the tournament and Preds D-man Seth Jones did something that's usually only reserved for a Preds practice:

First shot of the #Worlds2015: A slapper by Seth Jones and a save by Pekka Rinne. #Preds — Thomas Willis (@TomAWillis) May 1, 2015

But it was a Pred still waiting to don Gold for the first time that got the Worlds off to a rocking start. Winger Steve Moses, signed to a one-year contract for the 2015-16 NHL season, cut wide and then threw a backhander off the crossbar and into the cage to give USA a 1-0 lead and officially introduce himself to Pekka Rinne.

GIF: Sweet Fancy Moses what a goal pic.twitter.com/pNKYKUsFQ9 — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 1, 2015

Steve Moses scores as the US beats Finland 5-1 in their opening match at the #IIHFWorlds. Tag a fan of @USAHockey https://t.co/7hUBCqtc5B — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 1, 2015

In the mix, Jack Eichel, Steve Moses and Jyrki Jokipakka of Finland following their opening game. #IIHFWorlds https://t.co/wdIaia5vAC — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 1, 2015

Shortly after the Americans' 5-1 victory, Swedes Filip Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm also took to the ice and eventually claimed a 6-5 shootout win over the host nation.

Sweden beats the Czechs 6-5 in shootout after a dramatic finish. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the game winner. #IIHFWorlds — IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 1, 2015

Wednesday April 29 and Thursday, April 30:

Less than a week after their run in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs concluded, Preds players started to arrive in the Czech Republic in advance of the 16 national team tournament.