captain Kevin Bieksa

MINSK, Belarus - Canadian captain Kevin Bieksa paid the price in the form of a chipped tooth and stitches on the inside of his mouth. Nuggets Jerseys 2019 . After Canada held on to beat the Czech Republic 4-3 on Monday at the world hockey championship, it was worth it. Bieksa took Jan Kovars stick to the mouth, a penalty that gave Canada a five-minute man advantage it scored twice on. When the Czechs scored twice in the third period to make things interesting, those power-play goals loomed large. "If you look at it, its the difference in the game," coach Dave Tippett said. Canadas power play was 1-for-11 in the tournament before Nathan MacKinnon and Morgan Rielly scored 17 seconds apart to build a three-goal lead. Even though Jiri Novotny and Tomas Hertl cut the advantage to one late, it was enough of a cushion to allow Canada to survive for a second straight victory. Still flush in his face from stopping 31 shots, goaltender James Reimer joked he and his teammates just wanted to keep it close and entertain the fans at Chizhovka-Arena. But he expected the Czechs to make a push. "Theyre a good team," Reimer said, pausing to catch his breath. "And obviously theyre playing desperate. ... You know they werent going to roll over, you knew they were going to come hard." That was thanks in part to what Tippett called "unforced errors" by his players. "Theyre going to get their pressure just because theyre good players, but then adding fuel to the fire, thats when youre really in trouble," Tippett said. "There was two or three times in that third period where we had a good chance to clear it, make a good, solid, simple play and we forced pucks that got turned over and then it comes right back at you." Even though it got nerve-wracking late, Canada had some breathing room. Goals by Joel Ward — his third of the tournament — and assistant captain Kyle Turris helped the Canadians rebound from giving up the first goal for a third straight game before the power play finally clicked. That wasnt just a coincidence. Tippett made some personnel switches on the power-play units, putting Alex Burrows, Ward and Turris on the ice to see what would change. "Less skill and more work," he said. Work behind the net put Bieksa in position to draw the game-altering slashing penalty 15:01 into the second period on Kovar, who got an automatic game misconduct. Czech coach Vladimir Ruzicka was surprised it was called slashing and not high-sticking after checking it out on video. No matter the penalty, Bieksa required medical attention on the bench while the game was delayed as workers brushed his blood off the ice. The 32-year-old Vancouver Canucks defenceman remained in the contest, to the surprise of no one. "Give credit to him: Just spat out some blood and was ready to go on the next shift," winger Matt Read said. "Hes a warrior, hes our leader and its good to see that." Bieksa was unable to talk to reporters afterwards because he required stitches that made it difficult for him to speak. His teammates spoke for him, most notably on the five-minute major power play. "Thats a huge aspect of the game," Read said. "A guy sacrificing his body, unfortunately, but if you dont come out with at least one goal, you know youre on your heels and it gives them all the momentum." Instead, Canada had all of it until midway through the third when the Czech Republic turned up the heat. The pro-Czech crowd of 6,317 came to life, but two late penalties — to Jaromir Jagr and Jiri Hudler — ended the chances of a comeback. The win gave Canada seven points atop Group A. Its next game is Thursday against Denmark. Before then, Tippett hopes to work on some things and use the third period as a teaching tool. "Those are all good things — not good things for our team, but learning experiences for our team that we have to make sure we can get through situations like that," he said. Just minutes after holding on, Canadas players recognized the value of getting tested in a game they looked to have total control of. "Its something were going to learn from moving forward that you cant take it easy going into the third, no matter what kind of lead you have," Turris said. "Were gaining experience as we go." NOTES — Former Calgary Flames forward Roman Cervenka opened the scoring for the Czech Republic, cashing in on a two-on-one rush with Vladimir Sobotka. ... Canada chased Czech starter Jakub Kovar after Riellys goal, the fourth on 13 shots. Alexander Salak got a roughing penalty for punching Burrows just seconds after he entered the game, then stopped the seven shots he saw the rest of the way. Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Nuggets Jerseys 2020 .28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games. Denver Nuggets Store . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p. CHICAGO -- It didnt matter much to Anthony Rizzo that the Chicago Cubs finally swept a series. Winning three straight? Thats what registered with him. Rizzo hit a tiebreaking homer, Travis Wood went deep and drove in three runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 7-4 Thursday night to complete the three-game sweep. Rizzos solo drive off Vic Black (1-1) with one out in the seventh gave the Chicago a lead after they wasted a four-run lead. Andrew Browns two-run shot tied it 4-all in the top half. Junior Lake added a two-run triple in the eighth, and the Cubs came away with their first series sweep since they took three at San Francisco last July 26-28. "I know we won three games in a row, whether its a sweep or not," Rizzo said. "Its just nice to win ... especially in a series where we played good baseball." Wood delivered in a big way at the plate and was in line for the win before New York rallied from a 4-0 deficit. He hit a two-run homer in the second off Jacob deGrom after Luis Valbuena was ruled safe at home on a sacrifice fly to left following a replay review on what would have been the third out to give Chicago a 3-0 lead. And Wood drove in another run with a fielders choice grounder in the fourth. "I feel like were commanded to hit in this league, so you want to try to be as best as you can," said Wood, who has two homers this season and eight in his career. The Mets scored two while chasing Wood in the sixth and tied it in the seventh when Brown, who was recalled from Triple-A earlier in the day, connected off Justin Grimm. Rizzo, however, put the Cubs back on top with a long drive to right-centre on a 3-1 pitch for his team-leading 11th homer. Grimm (2-2) got the win. Pedro Strop stranded two runners in the eighth before Lake made it a three-run game in the bottom half. Neil Ramirez then converted his first save opportunity, retiring the side in the ninth, and the Cubs swept three from New York at Wrigley Field for the first time since April 2004. The Mets went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners after leaving 10 onn in each of the previous two games. Custom Denver Nuggets Jerseys. It added up to a sweep by a team with the worst record in the National League. "When they all got big league uniforms on, theyre major leaguers," New York manager Terry Collins said. "Theyre trying to beat you just as much as youre trying to beat them. Once in a while they play good, you dont play good, youre gonna get your butt kicked. Thats the way it is, thats just the way it is around here." They wasted several opportunities against Wood, who gave up two runs and five hits in five-plus innings. He tied a season high with five walks but kept pitching out of trouble until the Mets knocked him out in the sixth. He left with a run in after giving up a leadoff walk to Brown and back-to-back singles by Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada. Young added an RBI single off Brian Schlitter with two out, cutting it to 4-2, before Curtis Granderson popped out to end the rally. DeGrom gave up four runs and five hits over five innings and remained winless in five starts for New York. NOTES: The Cubs observed a moment of silence before the game for Don Zimmer, who managed the 1989 team to the NL East crown. Zimmer spent 66 years in pro baseball and was still working as a senior adviser for the Tampa Bay Rays before he died Wednesday at 83. He had been in a Florida rehab centre since heart surgery in mid-April. "I lived in St. Petersburg for 12 years, so I saw Don a lot," Collins said. "Its a sad day for baseball. One of the truly iconic baseball personalities in the game. I grew up a Dodgers fan and this guy was one of the great Dodgers. If it wasnt for Pee Wee (Reese) he would have had a tremendous career." ... Mets prized pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard left Thursdays start for Triple-A Las Vegas after experiencing discomfort in his left shoulder following a tag play at the plate. New York said he had precautionary X-rays and the results are pending. It was his first start after returning from the DL because of a mild strain in his right elbow. ... Chicago took Indiana C-OF Kyle Schwarber with the fourth pick in the draft. ' ' '