PRAGUE (AP) — JJ Peterka had a goal and three assists, Wojciech Stachowiak set up four goals, and Germany clinched a playoff berth with an 8-2 rout of Kazakhstan at the men’s hockey world championship on Friday.
Philipp Grubauer, who plays for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, stopped 18 shots in helping Germany (3-2) move into second place in the eight-team Group B standings. Peterka, a member of the Buffalo Sabres, scored the eventual game-winning goal in putting the Germans ahead 3-1 at the 1:11 mark of the second period.
Roman Starchenko and Artyom Korolyov scored for Kazakhstan, which is in jeopardy of facing relegation after dropping to 1-4. Andrey Shutov allowed three goals on 10 shots before being replaced by Nikita Boyarkin, who stopped 20 of 25 shots.
In Group A preliminary round play, Christian Wejse scored the decisive goal with 7:59 left in regulation of Denmark’s 4-3 win over winless Britain.