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Brett Howden celebrates his goal that gave Canada a 2-0 lead over Denmark. Getty Images

Canada will have a top seed when the medal round of the World Junior Championship kicks off next week in Buffalo.

The Canadians locked up the top spot in their Group A table on Saturday night thanks to a dominant 8-0 victory over Denmark. With that top spot comes favorable seeding (and a likely first-round matchup with Switzerland) when the playoff round kicks off on Tuesday.

The bounce-back win comes just one day after Canada's stunning shootout loss to the United States outdoors at New Era Field. Despite the disappointing loss, the Canadians knew they were still in the Group A driver's seat with a cupcake matchup against the Danes to close out the preliminary round. All they needed to do was take of business on Saturday, and take care of business they did. 

As expected, it wasn't much of a contest, as Canada controlled most of the game and outshot Denmark 44-18 in the victory. Seven goal-scorers carried the load while Carter Hart made his second straight start in net, recording his first clean sheet of the tournament. 

Canada finishes the preliminary round 3-0-1 and will get to catch their breath and rest up tired legs for a few days until the playoff round begins. The rest of the preliminary round will close out on Sunday.

Which NHL prospects came up big on Saturday?

Vancouver Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson had a three-point day -- including one hell of a highlight-reel goal -- against Switzerland on Saturday afternoon. The 19-year-old has great speed, hands and creativity with the puck on his stick, which is a big reason he went fifth overall in the 2017 draft. Petterson showed off that agility and elusiveness when he completely froze a Swiss defender on a rush, then tucked the puck past the netminder for the outstanding goal.

It feels like Pettersson has had a jaw-dropping highlight in every one of Sweden's prelim games, but this is certainly his best so far. 

Boston Bruins prospect Joona Koppanen (fifth-round selection in 2016) had a solid day for Finland and earned Player of the Game honors following their victory over Slovakia. This was one of his better sequences; he did a great job pressuring on the forecheck to win possession, then setting up in front of the net to get on the scorebaord.

Calgary Flames prospect Adam Ruzicka came up big on Saturday as well...unfortunately, it was for the opposing team. The Slovakian center won a draw cleanly in the third period and accidentally sent it straight into his own net. That own goal doubled Finland's lead and was a pretty demoralizing blow for the Slovaks. 

Cale Makar of Canada had a second consecutive game with a power play goal, and it came on this nice sequence against Denmark. Makar, a Colorado Avalanche prospect, showed great composure by using a flip pass to the point to escape pressure in the corner, then received the ensuing pass and found the back of the net with a great shot. Makar's ability to move the puck, execute smart plays and create offensive chances is a big reason why he went fourth overall to the Avs in 2017. 

Four players from Team Canada got their first goal of the tournament on Saturday night -- Robert Thomas (St. Louis Blues), Michael McLeod (New Jersey Devils), Alex Formenton (Ottawa Senators) and Brett Howden (Tampa Bay Lightning). Howden had two goals and earned Player of the Game honors for Canada in their victory. 

What else happened in the preliminary round?

  • Czech Republic held off Belarus for a 6-5 win
  • Sweden got four straight goals in the third period and beat Switzerland, 7-2
  • Finland got five goals from five different players to beat Slovakia, 5-2

What happens next in the World Juniors?

Though Canada has officially locked up the top seed in Group A, the United States still has a big matchup against Finland on Sunday. The winner of that game will secure the second-place seed in Group A's table. Russia and Czech Republic will be also be fighting for seeding in Group B on Sunday. The second-place seeds will end up facing the opposing group's third-place seeds.

The 2018 World Juniors preliminary round concludes on Dec. 31 to set the stage for relegation in January, which precedes the medal round playoffs. Here's a complete rundown of the final prelim games on Sunday.

Sunday, Dec. 31

  • Czech Republic vs. Switzerland, 12 p.m. (NHL Network, TSN 1/3)
  • Finland vs. United States, 4 p.m. (NHL Network, TSN 1/3)
  • Denmark vs. Slovakia, 6 p.m. (TSN2)
  • Sweden vs. Russia, 8 p.m. (NHL Network, TSN 1/3)