John Klingberg scored his first goal at the World Championship, and Jhonas Enroth made 24 saves as Sweden edged Germany, 4-3, in Czech Republic Thursday.

Sweden, coming off a tough loss to Canada on Wednesday, won for the fourth time in five games in the preliminary round.

Klingberg tipped in a Staffan Kronwall shot to give Sweden a 3-2 lead early in the third period. Klingberg played 18:46 and had four shots on goal. He has registered four points (one goal, three assists) in five games.

Enroth has won all three of his starts for Sweden, posting a 2.93 goals-against average and .880 save percentage.

Finland shuts out Slovenia, 4-0

Finland registered its third straight shutout in defeating Slovenia, 4-0, Thursday. Finnish goaltender Pekka Rinne hasn’t allowed a goal since the USA tallied in the third period in the opening game of the tournament for both teams.

Neither Esa Lindell nor Jyrki Jokipakka scored in Thursday’s game. Lindell played 17:16 and co-led Finland with five shots on goal. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in four games. Jokipakka, who played 13:00 and had no shots Thursday, has tallied two goals in four games.

Campbell, USA fall to Belarus

The USA suffered its first defeat at the tournament, falling 5-2 to Belarus Thursday. After a scoreless first period, Belarus scored three straight goals in a 4:55 span early in the second period to take control of the game.

“We just let them have too much possession," USA forward Jack Eichel told IIHF.com. "We had a couple of mishaps in the offensive zone that led to them getting odd-man breaks and they took advantage of that.”

Stars goaltending prospect Jack Campbell got a second straight start for the USA and stopped 18 of 23 shots for the USA, which is now 3-1 in preliminary play.

France falls to Czech Republic

Antoine Roussel did not factor in the scoring as France fell to Czech Republic, 5-1, on Thursday. France is winless in its first four games. Roussel, who played 15:45 in Thursday’s game, has no points in four games. His 34 penalty minutes lead the tournament.

Thursday’s results

Belarus 5, USA 1

Czech Republic 5, France 1

Sweden 4, Germany 3

Finland 4, Slovenia 0

Friday’s games

Austria vs. Czech Republic, 9:15 a.m.

Norway vs. Slovenia, 9:15 a.m.

Denmark vs. United States, 1:15 p.m.

Latvia vs. Germany, 1:15 p.m.



This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.