NHL rookie of the year finalist Jeff Skinner scored twice for Canada and the Olympic champions routed France 9-1 Sunday to advance to the second round of the ice hockey world championship.
Canada beat Belarus 4-1 Friday and is 2-0 going into its last Group B game, against Switzerland on Tuesday.
"We look like we got a team with hunger to score goals," Canada coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We got better as the game went on."
Marc-Andre Gragnani opened the scoring 1:02 into the game on a rebound during a power play. Jason Spezza doubled the lead at 6:35 and Skinner finished the first-period barrage with a goal at the 12:02 mark.
Pierre Edouard Bellemare scored for France midway through the second period on a power play, but Chris Stewart and Alex Pietrangelo replied within 43 seconds to give Canada a 5-1 lead.
"When we were leading 3-1, it was tough. But we finally came out and found our game," Canada captain Rick Nash said. "They've played 70 games together, ours was the fourth, it's quite a difference. I think the team that usually wins the tournament is the team that gets better and better. That's all what we need to do."
The Wild's Brent Burns, Nash, Skinner and Travis Zajac finished the rout with third-period goals.
RUNNING
Legally blind woman wins marathon A South Carolina stay-at-home mom who's legally blind won the women's race at the 13th annual Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati on Sunday. Amy McDonaugh from Irmo, S.C., crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 14 seconds to win her first marathon. The 34-year-old McDonaugh ran the 26.2-mile route without a guide. Though she has no peripheral vision, is blind in one eye and has poor vision in the other, she can see straight ahead.
