ESPN

All the Dallas Stars playing at the 2012 World Championship are now finished as the USA, Canada and Sweden were all eliminated in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Stars forward Loui Eriksson had one goal and one assist, but Sweden lost 4-3 to Czech Republic. Czech forward Milan Michalek scored the game-winner with 29 seconds remaining. Eriksson finished with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in eight games, leading Sweden in goals and finishing second on the team in points.

Defenseman Alex Goligoski had no points in Team USA’s 3-2 loss to Finland. Finland’s Jesse Joensuu scored two goals, including the game-winner with just nine seconds remaining. Goligoski ended the tournament with five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-seven rating in eight games.

Stars goalie Richard Bachman, who played in one tournament game, was the backup to Jimmy Howard for Team USA on Thursday.

Forward Jamie Benn had no points in Canada’s 4-3 loss to Slovakia. Slovakia’s Michael Handzus scored a power play goal with 2:28 left, snapping a 3-3 tie. Benn ended up with five points (three goals, two assists) in eight games.

Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen is out for the rest of the tournament for the Finns due to a minor knee injury.

Forward Tomas Vincour, who was on the Czech's travel roster for the tournament, was not among the 25 players his country registered to play in the tournament, so he is not eligible to play any games.

Thursday’s results (quarterfinals)

Slovakia 4, Canada 3
Russia 5, Norway 2
Finland 3, USA 2
Czech Republic 4, Sweden 3

Saturday’s games (semifinals)

Russia vs. Finland, 6:30 a.m.
Czech Republic vs. Slovakia, 10:30 a.m.

DALLAS -- Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen suffered a minor knee injury at the World Championship, according to Dallas goaltending coach Mike Valley.

Lehtonen was injured in Sunday's game between Finland and the United States when Team USA forward Bobby Ryan was tripped and then slid into Lehtonen, who left the game and did not return.

Valley said the injury, which is not serious, will likely sideline Lehtonen for two to three weeks. He should be fine after that.

Lehtonen will not play for Finland for the rest of the World Championship, which enters the playoff round on Thursday.

Thursday’s World Championship games (quarterfinals)
Canada vs. Slovakia, 5:00 a.m.
Russia vs. Norway, 7:45 a.m.
USA vs. Finland, 10:30 a.m.
Sweden vs. Czech Republic, 1:15 p.m.

Defenseman Philip Larsen was the only Dallas Star playing at the World Championship on Monday. He had no points, two shots and a plus-one rating in 24:40 of ice time as Denmark won its first game of the tournament, defeating Latvia by a 2-0 score.

Finland, which is without injured Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen, defeated Kazakhstan 4-1 on Monday. Lehtonen is out “until further notice” with a lower body injury. The Finns also were without defenseman Anssi Salmela, who was suspended for three games for his hit on Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski in Sunday’s game against the United States.

Tuesday is the final day of the preliminary round.

Monday’s games

France 2, Belarus 1
Denmark 2, Latvia 0
Finland 4, Kazakhstan 1
Russia 4, Italy 0

Tuesday’s games

Canada vs. Belarus, 4:15 a.m.
Norway vs. Denmark, 5:15 a.m.
Slovakia vs. France, 8:15 a.m.
Czech Republic vs. Germany, 9:15 a.m.
USA vs. Switzerland, 12:15 p.m.
Sweden vs. Latvia, 1:15 p.m.

Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen is out with a lower body injury for Finland at the World Championship.

Lehtonen was injured in the third period of Sunday's 5-0 loss to the United States when Team USA's Bobby Ryan was tripped and then slid into him. Lehtonen left the game after stopping 25 of 30 shots in the loss.

According to the International Ice Hockey Federation, Finland said that Lehtonen is out "until further notice."

Here's the video of the play where Lehtonen was injured.

Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen left Sunday’s World Championship game between Finland and the United States with a lower body injury after a collision with Team USA’s Bobby Ryan.

It happened with just over seven minutes left in the game when Ryan fell on Lehtonen in the Finnish crease. Lehtonen left the game and was replaced by Petri Vehanen.

There was no immediate word on the specifics of Lehtonen’s injury or the extent.

“Lehtonen is injured. That is all I know,” Finland coach Jukka Jalonen told media after the game.

Lehtonen stopped 25 of 30 shots in the game, which the USA won 5-0. It was a rough outing for Lehtonen, who was knocked around a few times in the crease by a U.S. team that dominated play from the drop of the puck.

Earlier in the third period, Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski was shaken up when he was hit from behind and slammed hard into the endboards by Finland’s Anssi Salmela, who received a boarding major and game misconduct. Goligoski returned to the game. Salmela is expected to face disciplinary action from the IIHF.

Goligoski had one assist and three shots on goal in 18:50 of playing time for the USA, which clinched a berth in the quarterfinals with its victory.

Stars goalie Richard Bachman backed up Jimmy Howard, who stopped all 18 shots he faced to earn the shutout for Team USA.

Sunday’s games

USA 5, Finland 0
Russia 2, Czech Republic 0
Slovakia 1, Switzerland 0
Norway 12, Germany 4

Monday’s games

Belarus vs. France, 8:15 a.m.
Latvia vs. Denmark, 9:15 a.m.
Kazakhstan vs. Finland, 12:15 p.m.
Italy vs. Russia, 1:15 p.m.

Stars goaltender Richard Bachman made his first appearance at the World Championship on Friday, stopping 17 of 19 shots as Team USA defeated Kazakhstan in overtime, 3-2.

“I had a lot of things going through my head -- I was excited to throw on the USA jersey and be a starter for a game,” Bachman told USAHockey.com. “I hadn’t played in 10 days -- since I had a little game action in the exhibition against Sweden. For me, I was just trying to get comfortable with my surroundings and just settle in.”

Kazakhstan, which came into the game with an 0-4 record, gave the U.S. all it could handle and forced Bachman to make some quality saves throughout the game.

Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski had an assist, a game-high eight shots on goal and was a plus-three for the USA, which outshot Kazakhstan 50-19.

Carolina’s Justin Faulk scored two goals for the USA, including the game-winner with 22 seconds left in overtime.

Canada defeated Finland 5-3 on Friday. Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen had 21 saves on 25 shots for the Finns, who lost for the first time in the tournament. Stars forward Jamie Benn had no points, one shot and two penalty minutes for the Canadians.

Stars forward Loui Eriksson had two assists, a game-high 10 shots on goal, but Sweden fell to Russia 6-3 in a battle of unbeaten teams. Russia is now the only unbeaten in the preliminary round at 5-0-0.

Eriksson now has nine points (three goals, six assists) in five games and ranks second in scoring at the tournament to Russia’s Evgeni Malkin, who had five points (three goals, two assists) in Friday’s game and now has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in five games.

Vincour won’t play at tournament

The Czech Republic made it official Friday that Stars forward Tomas Vincour won’t play at the World Championship. The Czechs registered their final three players for the tournament to bring their active roster to the 25-man limit and Vincour wasn’t among them.

Friday’s games

USA 3, Kazakhstan 2 (OT)
Czech Republic 6, Italy 0
Canada 5, Finland 3
Russia 7, Sweden 7-3

Saturday’s games

Slovakia vs. Belarus, 4:15 a.m.
Norway vs. Latvia, 5:15 a.m.
Switzerland vs. France, 8:15 a.m.
Germany vs. Denmark, 9:15 a.m.
Kazakhstan vs. Canada, 12:15 p.m.
Italy vs. Sweden, 1:15 p.m.

Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski had no points and two shots on goal in Team USA’s 5-3 win over Belarus. Goaltender Richard Bachman backed up Jimmy Howard again, but could get the start in Friday’s game when the USA takes on Kazakhstan.

Defenseman Philip Larsen had no points and a game-high six shots on goal in Denmark’s 3-1 loss to Russia on Thursday.

Kari Lehtonen did not dress for Finland, which defeated France 7-1 and improved to 4-0-0 in preliminary round play. Finland plays Canada on Friday.

Tomas Vincour did not play for Czech Republic, which defeated Latvia 3-1.

Thursday’s games

USA 5, Belarus 3
Russia 3, Denmark 1
Finland 7, France 1
Czech Republic 3, Latvia 1

Friday’s games

Kazakhstan vs. USA, 8:15 a.m.
Italy vs. Czech Republic, 9:15 a.m.
Finland vs. Canada, 12:15 p.m.
Russia vs. Sweden, 1:15 p.m.

Goaltender Kari Lehtonen, the only Dallas Star playing at the World Championship on Tuesday, stopped 26 of 28 shots as Finland improved to 3-0-0 with a 5-2 win over Switzerland.

Lehtonen is now 2-0 at the tournament with a 1.00 goals-against average and .959 save percentage, having stopped 57 of 59 shots.

Finland, Sweden and Russia are the only three teams with perfect records through the first six days of preliminary play.

Tuesday’s results

Belarus 3, Kazakhstan 2
Latvia 5, Italy 0
Finland 5, Switzerland 2
Russia 2, Germany 0

Wednesday’s games

Slovakia vs. Kazakhstan, 8:15 a.m.
Norway vs. Italy, 9:15 a.m.
Canada vs. Switzerland, 12:15 p.m.
Sweden vs. Germany, 1:15 p.m.

Defenseman Philip Larsen was the only Stars player to see action at the World Championship on Sunday. He had no points, four shots on goal and a minus-1 rating in Denmark’s 4-3 loss to Italy.

Larsen played a game-high 25:36 as Denmark fell to 0-2 in the tournament.

Kari Lehtonen served as the backup in Finland’s 1-0 victory over Slovakia on Sunday. The Finns improved to 2-0 at the tournament. Both wins have been by 1-0 scores.

Sunday’s results

France 6, Kazakhstan 3
Italy 4, Denmark 3
Finland 1, Slovakia 0
Russia 4, Norway 2
Switzerland 3, Belarus 2
Latvia 3, Germany 2

Monday’s games

France vs. Canada, 8:15 a.m.
Czech Republic vs. Norway, 9:15 a.m.
USA vs. Slovakia, 12:15 p.m. (NBC Sports Network)
Denmark vs. Sweden, 1:15 p.m.

Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen opened the 2012 World Championship with a shutout, stopping all 21 shots he faced as Finland defeated Belarus 1-0 in the first day of games at the tournament.

Lehtonen faced just two shots in the opening period but stopped 12 in the second and then seven in the third in posting the shutout.

Here’s a look at how the other Dallas Stars players fared on day one of the World Championship:

*Forward Jamie Benn scored the first goal of the game in Canada’s 3-2 win over Slovakia. Benn began the game on a line with Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

*Forward Loui Eriksson had a power play goal in Sweden’s 3-1 victory over Norway. Eriksson played on a line with Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen. Joining that line on the power play unit when Eriksson scored his goal were Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson.

*Defenseman Alex Goligoski had two assists and a plus-two rating in the USA’s 7-2 victory over France. Goligoski, who was second on the USA in ice time with 22:06, was paired with Carolina’s Justin Faulk.

*Richard Bachman served as the backup to Detroit’s Jimmy Howard, who stopped 21 of 23 shots for the Americans.

*Defenseman Philip Larsen had no points, three shots and a minus-two rating as Denmark lost 2-0 to Czech Republic. Forward Tomas Vincour did not play for the Czechs.

Friday’s results

USA 7, France 2
Germany 3, Italy 0
Canada 3, Slovakia 2
Czech Republic 2, Denmark 0
Finland 1, Belarus 0
Sweden 3, Norway 1

Saturday’s games

Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan, 7 a.m.
Latvia vs. Russia, 9:15 a.m.
Canada vs. USA, 11 a.m.
Sweden vs. Czech Republic, 1:15 p.m.

The 2012 World Championship gets underway Friday in Sweden and Finland, and seven Dallas Stars players are at the tournament.

Defenseman Alex Goligoski and goaltender Richard Bachman are playing for the United States. Forward Jamie Benn is playing for Canada. Loui Eriksson is among the several NHL players on Sweden’s roster. Kari Lehtonen is the Finland’s No.1 goaltender. And Philip Larsen is suiting up for Denmark.

Stars forward Tomas Vincour is with the Czech team, but it’s still not clear if he’ll be playing in the tournament. He apparently won’t be playing Friday since he was not among the players registered by the Czechs on Thursday. The Czechs registered only the 20 players who would dress for Friday’s game against Denmark.

The Teams

Group H (Helsinki, Finland): Belarus, Canada, Finland, France, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Slovakia, United States

Group S (Stockholm, Sweden: Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Sweden

The Format

The preliminary round features round-robin play within each group. The top four teams in each group after the preliminary round will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played within each group with the first place team playing the fourth place team and the second place team playing the third place team.

In the semifinals the winners will crossover groups. Group H 1st vs. 4th winner will play Group S 2nd vs. 3rd winner. Group S 1st vs. 4th winner will play Group H 2nd vs. 3rd winner.

The two semifinal winners will play for the gold and the two semifinal losers will play for the bronze.

Links

International Ice Hockey Federation (Official tournament site)
IIHF YouTube Channel
USA Hockey
Hockey Canada

Friday’s Schedule (Times are Central)

USA vs. France, 4:15 a.m. (NBC Sports Network)
Italy vs. Germany, 5:15 a.m.
Slovakia vs. Canada, 8:15 a.m.
Denmark vs. Czech Republic, 9:15 a.m.
Finland vs. Belarus, 12:15 p.m.
Norway vs. Sweden, 1:15 p.m.

FRISCO -- Since Kari Lehtonen made the full time jump to the NHL back in 2005 he hasn’t seen much playoff action. Just two Stanley Cup playoff games to be specific. That’s why he’s looking forward to the chance to play for Finland at the 2012 World Championship.

“I want to get used to playing in May and extend the season. That’s what you need to do when you are ultimately in the playoffs and going deep there,” Lehtonen said. “I think that will be great for me to make the summer a little shorter and keep playing.”

Lehtonen’s two NHL playoff games came in 2007, when the Atlanta Thrashers were swept in the first round by the New York Rangers. That year was also the last time he played in May, helping lead Finland to a silver medal at the World Championship, posting a 4-2-0 record with a 1.93 goals against average, and earning best goaltender of the tournament honors.

The Stars netminder sees the tournament experience as similar to the playoffs, where goaltending can be key to a team’s success.

“I’ve done it a few times and you have to try to find your best mode. It’s so short, you have to be on your game totally, because there’s going to be a couple of other goalies that will be for sure,” Lehtonen said. “It’s the same thing probably as a playoff situation. It’s always goalie battles and you try to be the better one. I think that’ll be good for me to get that experience again.”

Lehtonen does have postseason experience besides those two NHL playoff games back in 2007. He led Jokerit to the Finnish Elite League championship in 2002 and was named the playoff MVP. He led the Chicago Wolves to the AHL’s Calder Cup Finals in 2005.

But he hasn’t played beyond the NHL regular season for several years, and the Stars see this chance for Lehtonen to play at the Worlds as a good building block for the Dallas netminder.

“Whenever you get a chance to see what it feels like to playing in May, it’s a good experience,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan.

Lehtonen won’t be the only Stars player playing in May. So will Jamie Benn (Canada), Loui Eriksson (Sweden), Alex Goligoski (USA), Richard Bachman (USA), Philip Larsen (Denmark) and Tomas Vincour (Czech Republic).

“I do think it’s important, and I think they’re good experiences,” said Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk. “In the case of some of these guys, they want to make a good impression and get some international experience with the Olympics right around the corner again, and I think that’s all part of it. In the case of Kari, I think it’s important that he plays under that microscope and backstops his country. I think it will be good for him.”

Lehtonen and the Finns will be under a microscope. The tournament is being played in Finland and Sweden. Finland, currently ranked No. 1 in the world and a tournament favorite, will play all of its games in Helsinki.

But it will also be a trip down memory lane for Lehtonen, who played his junior hockey and in Finnish Elite League for Jokerit Helsinki.

“I don’t think that hurts to go back after 10 years since I left, and to go back to the same building,” Lehtonen said. “I think that will be pretty cool.”

And it will be a chance to get some valuable experience as well.

2012 World Championship

When: May 4 – May 20

Where: Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden

Who: 16 teams including the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Italy and France

Television: NBC Sports Network will carry all the Team USA preliminary round games, all four quarterfinal games, a semifinal game and the gold medal game

Dallas Stars forward Tomas Vincour had to earn a spot on the Czech roster for the World Championship, and he’s apparently done that.

The Czechs announced the roster of players heading to the World Championship after defeating Russia 2-1 in the final game of the Kajobet Hockey Games on Sunday, and Vincour is one of the 15 forwards on the list.

The Czechs said Sunday they are leaving the option to make changes to the current roster if they are able to add NHL players eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Vincour had no points in Sunday’s game, but picked up one goal in four games while playing for Czech national team at the Kajobet tournament and the Euro Hockey Challenge.

Vincour joins fellow Stars Jamie Benn (Canada), Loui Eriksson (Sweden), Kari Lehtonen (Finland), Alex Goligoski (USA), Richard Bachman (USA) and Philip Larsen (Denmark) at the World Championship.

Lehtonen made 26 saves as Finland defeated Sweden 4-1 at the Kajotbet Hockey Games Sunday. Lehtonen, who stopped 57 of 58 shots in two starts, was named the tournament’s best goaltender.

Benn had no points and no shots on goal in Canada’s 2-1 shootout victory over Switzerland in a World Championship exhibition game on Sunday. Canada and Switzerland have another exhibition game on Tuesday.

The World Championship gets underway Friday in Sweden and Finland.

A couple notes for a Saturday morning in late April.

*Dallas Stars defense prospect Jamie Oleksiak (1st round/2011) and forward prospect Brett Ritchie (2nd round/2011) are headed to the Ontario Hockey League championship series. Their Niagara IceDogs team defeated Ottawa 3-2 last night to take to the Eastern Conference championship series in five games. Niagara will face the London Knights in the OHL finals, which get underway Thursday.

Oleksiak has two assists and a plus-5 rating in 15 playoff games. Ritchie has two goals, six assists and a plus-one rating in 15 games.

*Stars forward Tomas Vincour had no points and two shots on goal as Czech Republic lost 3-2 in overtime to Finland at the Kajotbet Hockey Games today. Vincour has no points in two games.

Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen, who shut out Russia on Thursday at the tournament, did not get the start today.

The tournament, which is being played in Czech Republic, is a tune-up for the World Championship. It wraps up tomorrow with Finland playing Sweden and Czech Republic taking on Russia.

The World Championship begins next week, but teams have been playing exhibition games in preparation for the tournament.

Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped all 31 shots he faced Thursday as Finland defeated Russia 2-0 at the Kajotbet Hockey Games, a tune-up for the World Championship.

Stars forward Tomas Vincour had no points and one shot on goal in the Czech’s 5-3 win over Sweden in the other tournament game.

Fellow Stars forward Loui Eriksson isn’t playing for Sweden at the tournament. He is expected to join the team early next week.

The tournament, which is being played primarily in the Czech Republic, runs through Sunday.

Stars forward Jamie Benn and Team Canada play Switzerland in an exhibition game Tuesday.

Defenseman Alex Goligoski, goaltender Richard Bachman and Team USA have an exhibition game against Sweden on Tuesday.

Defenseman Philip Larsen and Denmark host Italy in an exhibition match Tuesday.

The World Championship begins May 4 in Finland and Sweden.