Germany beat Belarus

After facing mighty Canada the day before, the Germans must have relished the sight of underdogs Belarus lining up against them on the ice in St. Petersburg.

The game was only 4:26 old when Patrick Reimer opened the scoring. And less than a minute and 20 seconds later, NHL star Leon Draitsaitl finally got his name on the score sheet at the World Championships.

Felix Schutz then added a third on 10:47 to complete a flying start by Marco Sturm's men.

To their credit, the Belarussians didn't give up. Andrei Stepanov gave them a lifeline in the second period, putting the puck in the net on 28:08.

Bealrus looked close to grabbing a second goal on a subsequent power play. But a little less than six minutes from the end of period, Brooks Macek restored Germany's three-goal advantage with a long-range slap shot.

In the third period, Germany looked content to hold their lead, and Andrei Stas punished their passivity on 49:14, making it 4-2. Germany's NHL goaltender Thomas Greiss had a hand in the goal, inadvertently directing the puck into his own net.

But a late Belarus penalty allowed the Germans to secure the win with ease. Philipp Gogula flipped in a fifth goal at the buzzer after Belarus had pulled their goaltender.

With the 5-2 victory, Germany temporarily move up to fourth place in Group B, while Belarus remained mired in seventh place, second to last in the group table.

Germany have a well-deserved day off. They next face the United States on Sunday.