MINSK, Belarus (AP) Defending champion Sweden edged Norway 2-1 Tuesday for its third straight victory at the hockey world championships.
Linus Klasen was in front of the net to knock in the winner off a pass from Gustav Nyquist 7:18 into the final period for the Swedish comeback.
''I just tried to break through to the net and then went around and tried to put it backdoor for Klasen and he was able to put it in,'' Nyquist said.
Sweden remains the only unbeaten team in Group A. It leads with eight points from three games, followed by Canada with seven points and Norway with six.
In other games, Finland blanked Germany 4-0 in Group B and Denmark beat Italy 4-1 in Group A for their first victories.
Sondre Olden put Norway 1-0 ahead on a breakaway in the second half before Joakim Lindstrom tied it for Sweden on a power play.
''It was a tough game,'' said Nyquist, a Detroit Red Wings forward. ''They were tight on us, they had a lot of guys back and we had to go through five guys the whole time. We didn't create enough chances that's something we got to work on.''
Added Norway defenseman Jonas Holos: ''We battled hard again, but they're better than us.''
In another Group B game, defenseman Arturs Kulda scored twice and Juris Stals netted the decisive goal 3:22 into the third period to lift Latvia past Kazakhstan 5-4 for its second win.
After losses to Latvia and Russia, Finland finally found its stride. Petri Kontiola and Jarkko Immonen's first-period goals gave the Finns a 2-0 lead before Olli Palola and Leo Komarov scored 30 seconds apart in the second.
''Maybe it's a bit of a turning point. It's certainly good to get a smile back on our faces,'' Kontiola said.
Goaltender Pekka Rinne made 20 saves for the shutout.
Latvia has six points in Group B, Finland has three, Germany five and Kazakhstan one.
Jannik Hansen scored short-handed for Denmark. Jesper Jensen and Emil Kristensen netted one each before Kim Staal added the last into an empty net.
Denmark next plays Canada on Thursday.
''If this tournament has proved anything it's that anybody can beat anybody,'' Hansen said about Denmark's hopes to advance to the quarterfinals. ''If you have a fortunate day and couple of bounces, anything can happen.''
Diego Kostner scored for Italy.
''Tactically, defensively we played a sound, solid game'' Italy coach Tom Pokel said. "So it was a tough one to swallow today.''
Denmark and Italy have three points each in Group A.
