The U.S. men look to start a World Championship with four straight wins for the first time since 1939, against Belarus in Ostrava, Czech Republic, at 10:15 a.m. ET, live on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
The U.S. leads its eight-team group and can move closer to securing a quarterfinal berth in Thursday’s game, its fourth of seven in group play.
The U.S. already owns victories over defending World champion Russia and Olympic bronze medalist Finland, plus Norway. It next plays Denmark (Friday), Slovenia (Sunday) and Slovakia (Tuesday) before next Thursday’s quarterfinals.
The U.