ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Ryan Ellis still has the bushy reddish-blonde beard that grew to lumberjack proportions during two rounds of the NHL playoffs. And, apparently, the Team Canada defenceman still has the game to go with it.

Two days after landing in Russia, a jet-lagged Ellis picked up an assist and logged a game-high 21 minutes and 19 seconds in a 4-0 Canadian win against France at the world hockey championship.

“I’m not sure what I played, but it was tough out there,” said Ellis, who joined Canada after the Nashville Predators lost Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. “The travel wasn’t great coming over, not much time between, but it’s a great group of guys. They made plays and you just kind of have to do your part and that’s what I tried to do.”

Ellis’ teammates were just as happy to have him, although it was tough to determine what they found most impressive: his impressive facial hair or his just as impressive play.

“I just want to go over there and feel it,” goaltender Calvin Pickard said of Ellis’ beard. “It’s good colours too. It’s Team Canada colours. It’s a good look for him.”

With Canada leading 1-0, Ellis picked up an assist when he rifled a point shot on net. It was stopped, but Matt Duchene scored on the rebound. Ellis finished the game with two shots and a plus-2 rating.

“He’s been playing in some very intense games already, so this is nothing new to him,” defenceman Ryan Murray said of Ellis, who had six points in 14 post-season games. “We have some tough opponents coming up, so it’s great to have a guy like him.”

Canadian head coach Bill Peters said it was “good to get him in the game and good to get the five years of NHL experience on the backend. We’re very, very young back there. Some of the plays we made in the first showed our youth.”

Mark Stone, Duchene, Mark Scheifele and Corey Perry all scored for Canada, which improved to 6-0 in the tournament.

It was the second straight game that the Canadians did not allow a goal. While they outshot France 46-13, it was not quite the blowout that the score sheet might suggest.

Pickard, who was making only his second start for Canada, was tested early with a breakaway attempt in the first period. Early in the second, with his team nursing a 1-0 lead, the Colorado Avalanche goalie faced a penalty shot after Ellis slashed a French forward on yet another breakaway.

“We had some breakdowns, but (Pickard) made some big saves,” said Perry, who celebrated his birthday with a goal in the third period. “A penalty shot and a couple of breakaways.”

Canada next plays Finland on Tuesday in the final game of the round-robin portion of the tournament. The Finns will be a tough out for the Canucks.

Both undefeated, Canada has outscored opponents 34-4 while Finland has outscored its opponents 25-6.

“That will be a big test for sure,” said Peters. “You look at some of the stats, we’re closely ranked in the power play … I expect it to be a good test. We know a lot of the players from the National Hockey League.”

Email: mtraikos@postmedia.com

Twitter: @Michael_Traikos

Email: mtraikos@postmedia.com

Twitter: @Michael_Traikos