MINSK, Belarus -- Defending champion Sweden made the first step in its title defence with a 3-0 victory over Denmark at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday. Nick Anderson Rays Jersey . Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund scored twice in the opening period when the Swedes displayed fast, well organized play that was tough for Denmark to match. "It was nice to have a few goals right away, keep the pressure off and the nerves away," Backlund said. Another Scandinavian superpower, Finland, began its campaign with an upset 3-2 loss to Latvia and Norway blanked Italy 3-0 while Germany prevailed in a shootout to beat Kazakhstan 2-1. Backlund scored his first for Sweden when defenceman Markus Lauridsen deflected his shot to the net with his skate and struck again by precisely directing Joakim Lindstroms slap shot. Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist added the third on a solo effort after intercepting a pass. "Once we got up two to nothing we stopped taking the puck to the net," Nyquist said. "We tried to make too many passes instead of shooting the puck." Latvia failed to capitalize on its second-period power plays when a total of seven Finns were in the penalty box. Finland used its only power play in that period to go 2-1 up with a goal by Petri Kontiola. Kristaps Sotnieks tied the match for Latvia -- the quarterfinalist in the Sochi Winter Olympics -- in the third before Arturs Kulda netted the winner on a power play. It was the first victory for Latvia over Finland at the worlds. Thomas Oppenheimer scored the decisive goal in the shootout to give Germany the win. Germany outshot its opponent 47-20 but Kazakhstan went ahead 1-0 after a goal from Andrei Gavrilin. The Germans answered through Matthias Plachta at the end of the first period. "I have to look at the positive," German coach Pat Cortina said. "We put the puck to the net and that is extremely important for our team." Niklas Roest opened the scoring in the first period for Norway, Morten Ask made it 2-0 midway through the game and captain Anders Bastiansen rounded off the victory on a breakaway in the third. "I tried to shoot early to surprise the goalie and it went in, so I was really happy," Bastiansen said. "We did a good job. We won and thats the most important thing." Goaltender Lars Haugen made 15 saves for the shutout, but needed help from his posts on two shots by defenceman Daniel Sullivan in the second. "We had a little difficulty in the beginning, adjusting to the speed," Italy coach Tom Pokel said. "However, as the game went on we got better and better. So it was a good game for us." Italy and Kazakhstan are both newcomers to the top division this year. Later Saturday, Canada hopes to rebound from Fridays 3-2 loss to France with a win against Slovakia, while the United States faces Switzerland a day after it routed host Belarus 6-1. Ryan Yarbrough Rays Jersey . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. Rays Jerseys 2020 . -- Nick Bjugstad snapped out of his scoring slump and spoiled Drew MacIntyres first NHL start. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/1706i-anthony-banda-jersey-rays.html . -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players.TSN is going BarDown, covering sports far beyond typical hard news, stats, and analysis. Launching Tuesday, BarDown.com brings Canadians fun, original, and buzz-worthy sports content with a pop culture twist. BarDown takes the hottest headlines, viral videos, GIFs, and more from the worlds of sports and pop culture and packages it all in one place - from the best of @Biznasty to where Drake and Jermain Defoe have dinner. Helmed by Managing Editor Dave Krikst, BarDown also features original video, news, and features from a team of talented young writers and sports fans. "Sports and pop culture stopped being two separate categories a long time ago," said Dave Krikst, Managing Editor of BarDown. "BarDown brings them together, like a double rainbow of Strombone tweets and LeBron facemask memes. Its the online equivalent of hanging out with your buddies, except better, because you know that guy who always shows up but no one really likes? Hes not there." If you like what we post on our Facebook page and Instagram account, youll want to check out BarDown. Its just as awesome. Here are the Top 4 things to expect from BarDown: 4. The most essential viral sports content - Theres a camera on pretty much everyone these days, and while we agree thats incredibly creepy, it also means that even more amazing sports moments are captured every day. If theres sommething amazing, whether its a crazy deke from a peewee practice or an awesome diving catch from a senior softball league, youll find it on BarDown. Mike Zunino Rays Jersey. 3. Original videos - Youll see more from Cabbie, because frankly were getting tired of his constant "production shoots" in L.A. and then seeing all his "work" on Instagram. So were reeling him in, sticking him in a man cave with Jeff ONeill and capturing it all on video. Were sure theyll discuss vital information like who from NHL on TSN listens to Michael Bolton to get himself in "the zone" before going on-air (hint: its Mike Johnson). 2. Classic Clips - Think Michael Landsbergs mullet and Gino Redas mustache circa the 1980s. Both are thick and glorious in their own right and, oh boy, do we have the evidence to prove it. Along with featuring slightly embarrassing archival footage, BarDown will also throw back to classic sports calls, like Gord Millers signature "Can You Believe It?" from the World Juniors gold medal game in 2010. 1. New content, every day - BarDown is constantly being updated with stuff youll want to pawn off to your buddies as your own. Were banking on that sweet, sweet virtual recognition that everyone craves as a reason for you to go BarDown every day... or 10 times a day. To visit BarDown, click over to http://www.bardown.com. ' ' '