Nick Jensen (C) celebrates with U.S. teammates after he scores the fourth goal against Denmark at the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on May 5, 2018 in Herning, Denmark.
Will Butcher scored the first and only goal that the U.S. men’s ice hockey team would need in a 4-0 win over host Denmark at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on Saturday.
Butcher scored at 16:06 in the first period and goaltender Keith Kinkaid made 20 saves to earn the shutout and lift Team USA a 2-0 record in the tournament. On Friday, Kinkaid made 40 saves as the U.S. opened play with a 5-4 shootout win over defending world silver medalist Canada.
Cam Atkinson, who scored both of Team USA’s goals in Friday’s shootout, and Chris Kreider added a goal each in the second period, and Nick Jensen gave the U.S. some additional insurance by scoring in the third. Jensen, Kreider and Butcher also registered assists, as did with Johnny Gaudreau, Derek Ryan, Quinn Hughes and two-time Olympian and team captain Patrick Kane.
The U.S., which beat Denmark 3-2 in an exhibition game Tuesday, now has a 5-0-1-1 record against the Danes at the world championships.
The U.S. is looking for its 12th medal at the world championships and first since winning bronze in 2015.
Team USA plays Germany on Monday and wraps up preliminary-round play Thursday against Latvia.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
