Detroit Red Wings rookie Emmitt Finnie hasn't been getting much ice time for Canada at the world hockey championship in Switzerland, but he's making the most of his opportunities.
Finnie scored his first goal of the round-robin tournament and added an assist in only 5:57 of ice time, as Canada (5-0) defeated Slovenia, 3-1, on Friday at the BCF Arena in Fribourg.
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Finnie, a seventh-round draft choice who had 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points with a minus-10 rating and 131 hits in his first season in Detroit, has played in only two of Canada's five games.
"My role here is a little different from what I'm used to, but everyone here is a great player," Finnie said after the game at iihf.com. "Whether I'm playing or not it's not going to deteriorate my confidence. I'm just trying to work as hard as I can and make an impact when I'm out there."
Finnie scored his goal early in the third period by going to the net and tipping in a shot from Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly at 6:41, his first career goal with Team Canada.
"It's not easy for him," Maple Leafs forward John Tavares said. "Maybe he's not always taking a regular shift when he's in, but he's really enjoying being around the group and he's learning a lot, being a sponge.
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"I'm thrilled for him to get on the board and be named Best Player of the game."
Ex-Spartan Porter Martone was scoreless in 8:11 of ice time for Canada. He has one goal and four assists for five points in five games.
The win keeps Canada in top place of the Group B standings without a loss, their only blemish being a 6-5 OT decision against Norway on Thursday.
Canada has a day off before playing Slovakia on Sunday in a battle of undefeated teams.
"I think our game was more connected today than yesterday," Tavares said. "It would have been nice to put the puck in the net a little more today, but we possessed it a lot.
"We were in control pretty much the whole game, but we can always find ways to be better."
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News:Emmitt Finnie of the Detroit Red Wings scores first goal at worlds