Canada routs France 9-1 at World Championship

Jeff Skinner scored two goals, one on a penalty shot, as Canada remained perfect at the World Hockey Championship by beating France 9-1 Sunday in Kosice, Slovakia.

Skinner, a finalist for the Calder Trophy after a 31-goal, 63-point rookie season with the Carolina Hurricanes, capped Canada’s three-goal first period by beating French goaltender Cristobal Huet 12:02 into the game. His penalty-shot goal came during Canada’s four-goal third period.

"We've been together a couple of weeks now and we've been developing some chemistry," Skinner told the IIHF website. "In a game like this, it's a good time to develop good habits and to figure out where everyone fits in on the ice. We also talk a lot on the bench and that's a good time to figure things out." 

Seven other players also scored goals and Toronto rookie James Reimer made 32 saves for Canada, which improved to 2-0-0, good for six points and first place in the Group B standings.

In Sunday’s other early game, Russia broke 4-4 tie when Alexander Radulov scored with 3:41 remaining in the third period and beat Slovenia 6-4.  The Russians, who lost to Germany in their opener,  saw a 4-2 third-period lead disappear on goals by Bostjan Golicic and Rok Pajic before Radulov put them in front to stay. Sergei Zinoviev added an insurance goal with 30 seconds remaining.