Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Gustav Nyquist is having quite a run.

In his first game at the World Championship, he scored in overtime. Today, he scored a hat trick and had an assist as his native Sweden routed Kazakhstan, 7-3 in a group A preliminary round game in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Nyquist scored back-to-back goals in the second period and added a shorthanded tally in the third period. That gives Nyquist five goals and one assist for six points after four games. Sweden moved into second place in group standings (the top four teams in each of the two groups advance to the knockout stage).

Nyquist already has matched his goal output from the 2014 World Championship, which saw him contribute four goals and two assists over 10 games (and take home a bronze medal).

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Nyquist's feats on the international stage (where the ice is bigger and the checks are fewer) are far more impressive than his NHL playoffs numbers - in 35 career games for the Detroit Red Wings, he has four goal and four assists.

There's one notable athlete in the U.S. that may well read something special into Nyquist's latest performance.

Sweden's uniform features three crowns (for "Tre Kronor" the team's nickname). That can only be a good harbinger for Nyquist the horse, who after winning last Saturday's Kentucky Derby is aiming to become a Triple Crown winner.

More worlds: Teemu Pulkkinen and Finland shut out Hungary, 3-0.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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