Canada is primed for a quarterfinal matchup with Slovakia in the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship after finishing in first place in Group B during the group stage round.
Slovakia allowed more goals (22) than any other team in the tournament through its first four games, and they will need to find defensive discipline against the favorites in Team Canada, which scored 17 goals over its first four games. This rings especially true should star forward Alexis Lafreniere — the likely first overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft — return from an apparent leg injury he suffered during Canada's 6-0 loss to Russia.
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Lafreniere had scored four points (one goal, three assists) in Team Canada's first two games before he was sidelined. If he plays on Thursday, the Slovaks should expect a relentless attack from the high-end NHL prospect and other top Canadian scorers Barrett Hayton (three goals, three assists) and Dylan Cozens (one goal, five assists).
Slovakia will likely call upon goaltender Samuel Hlavaj to help stall Canada's offense. On the offensive end, Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Maxim Cajkovic, Oliver Okuliar and Kristian Kovacik will be asked to sneak the puck past Canada's goaltending (.881 save percentage, 3.25 goals-against average) and penalty kill (70.59 percent through first four games) for the Slovaks to put up a fight against the annual world juniors behemoth.
WJC: Live scores and schedule for all four quarterfinal games
Here is how you can watch Canada vs. Slovakia in the world juniors quarterfinal on Thursday:
How to watch Canada vs. Slovakia
- TV channel: TSN
- Live stream: TSN Live
Canada vs. Slovakia: What time is puck drop?
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 2
- Time: 8:30 a.m. ET
Full World Junior Championship schedule
| THURSDAY, DEC. 26 | ||
| Switzerland 5, Kazakhstan 3 | 9 a.m. | TSN 1/3 |
| Czech Republic 4, Russia 3 | 9 a.m. | TSN 4/5, NHLN |
| Sweden 3, Finland 2 (OT) | 1 p.m. | TSN3 |
| Canada 6, United States 4 | 1 p.m. | TSN 1/4/5, NHLN |
| FRIDAY, DEC. 27 | ||
| Slovakia 3, Kazakhstan 1 | 9 a.m. | TSN, NHLN |
| Germany 3, United States 6 | 1 p.m. | TSN 1/3/4, NHLN |
| SATURDAY, DEC. 28 | ||
| Finland 8, Slovakia 1 | 9 a.m. | TSN 1/3, NHLN |
| Czech Republic 3, Germany 4 | 9 a.m. | TSN 4/5 |
| Switzerland 2, Sweden 5 | 1 p.m. | TSN3 |
| Russia 6, Canada 0 | 1 p.m. | TSN 1/4/5, NHLN |
| SUNDAY, DEC. 29 | ||
| Kazakhstan 1, Finland 7 | 9 a.m. | TSN 3/4/5, NHLN |
| United States 3, Russia 1 | 1 p.m. | TSN 4/5, NHLN |
| MONDAY, DEC. 30 | ||
| Kazakhstan 2, Sweden 6 | 9 a.m. | TSN3 |
| Germany 1, Canada 4 | 9 a.m. | TSN 1/4/5, NHLN |
| Slovakia 2, Switzerland 7 | 1 p.m. | TSN 1/3 |
| United States 4, Czech Republic 3 (OT) | 1 p.m. | TSN 4/5, NHLN |
| TUESDAY, DEC. 31 | ||
| Sweden 6, Slovakia 2 | 9 a.m. | TSN 1/3, NHLN |
| Russia 6, Germany 1 | 9 a.m. | TSN 4/5 |
| Finland 2, Switzerland 5 | 1 p.m. | TSN3 |
| Canada 7, Czech Republic 2 | 1 p.m. | TSN 1/4/5, NHLN |
| THURSDAY, JAN. 2 | ||
| QF: Switzerland vs. Russia | 6:30 a.m. | TSN 3/4/5, NHLN |
| QF: Canada vs. Slovakia | 9 a.m. | TSN, NHLN |
| QF: USA vs. Finland | 11:30 a.m. | TSN3, NHLN |
| QF: Sweden vs. Czech Republic | 2 p.m. | TSN, NHLN |
| SATURDAY, JAN. 4 | ||
| Semifinal | 9 a.m. | TSN, NHLN |
| Semifinal | 1 p.m. | TSN 1/4/5, NHLN |
| SUNDAY, JAN. 5 | ||
| Bronze-medal game | 9 a.m. | TSN, NHLN |
| Gold-medal game | 1 p.m. | TSN, NHLN |
(All times Eastern)