Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

As the hockey world championship enters its final day of preliminary games, there are implications for several Detroit Red Wings.

Dylan Larkin's U.S. squad can finish no better than fourth in Group B, thanks to back-to-back victories by Germany. The Germans followed up Sunday's stunning 3-2 victory over the U.S. with a 4-2 victory over Hungary today in St. Petersburg, Russia, to secure third place in the group.

The U.S. plays Tomas Jurco's Slovakia in its final prelim game. The Americans need either a victory or a nonregulation loss to survive. The U.S has nine points to Slovakia's six, but if the Slovaks win in regulation (which nets three points), the U.S. would be eliminated because the first tiebreaker is the head-to-head result.

Also on Tuesday, Russia's Pavel Datsyuk and Alexey Marchenko are scheduled to face Gustav Nyquist's Sweden for a shot at first place in Group A. Nyquist leads the tournament with seven goals.

As it stood today, the Russians, Swedes and Czechs (who finish up the prelims with a game against Switzerland) all have a shot at the No. 1 spot in Group A, otherwise finishing no worse than third.

Finland (which no longer is using Wings forward Teemu Pulkkinen in its lineup) battles Canada for first place in Group B, with the loser guaranteed third place.

The top four teams in groups A and B advance to the knockout round. The first-place team in Group A plays the fourth-place team in Group B, and vice versa. The second-place teams play the third-place teams from the other group.

Notebook: The Red Wings released details for the inaugural Street Hockey Summer Tour. Beginning July 18-Aug. 11, the Wings will travel throughout the state and use the parking lots of 10 Meijer locations to host free street hockey clinics for children 7-12. The tour is open to all skill levels and hockey experiences. Wings representatives and local hockey players and coaches will lead the clinics. For more, visit www.detroitredwings.com/streethockey. Registrations are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Free Press staff reports contributed.