Tough day for Red Wings' Lucas Raymond at World Championship

Saturday was an all-around bad day for the Detroit Red Wings' Lucas Raymond.

Playing for Team Sweden in the World Championship in Chechia, Raymond and his teammates were stunned in a 7-3 loss to the host team in a semifinal game.

Sweden had been 8-0 through the quarterfinals and had outscored opponents 37-10.

Raymond, a left wing, did his part in the loss by being minus-four with an assist and two shots on goal in 19:47 of ice time. And he took out his frustrations on a former teammate near the end of the game.

Forward Dominik Kubalik scored two goals for Chechia and played with the Red Wings during the 2022-23 season.

Raymond and Kubalik scuffled in the final minute of the third period and Raymond had to be restrained by the officials. Raymond is rarely involved in that kind of activity on the ice. Both players received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Kubalik, who is an unrestricted free agent after playing for the Ottawa Senators this past season, also had an assist on Saturday.

Chechia will play Switzerland for the gold medal on Sunday. Switzerland defeated Canada 3-2 in a shootout in the other semifinal.

Raymond had a breakout season for Detroit in 2023-24 with 31 goals and 41 assists for 72 points in his third NHL campaign.

He is a restricted free agent and will likely sign a lucrative deal with the Red Wings during the offseason.