The Round Robin portion of the Memorial Cup came to a close on Wednesday in Saskatoon. The host Blades will have to take the long route if they hope to move on in the tournament, going up against the London Knights later on tonight in the tie-breaker elimination game.

A pair of Canadiens defensive hopefuls, Dalton Thrower and Darren Dietz, will have to win their next three games if they hope to hoist the most prestigious trophy in Canadian junior hockey. In three games thus far, Dietz has scored one goal and recorded six penalty minutes, while Thrower has yet to register a point and picked up two penalty minutes.

Alexei Emelin underwent a reconstructive surgery to his left knee (ACL & MCL). His recovery is estimated to be 6 months.

The 27-year-old defenseman suffered a torn ligament in his left knee after colliding with Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic during a tilt on April 6 at the Bell Centre. In 38 games during the 2013-13 campaign, Emelin collected three goals and nine assists, while also registering a plus-2 differential. In addition to seeing his ice time increase from an average of 17:17 per game in his rookie year to 19:40 this past season, Emelin led the Canadiens in hits for a second consecutive season with 110, while also picking up 47 blocked shots.

- Alex Galchenyuk scored two goals in the shootout to lift the United States to a 3-2 victory over Finland in the bronze medal game. Galchenyuk and Danny Kristo each picked up their first World Hockey Championship medals after winning gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

- Raphael Diaz captured silver after Switzerland dropped a 5-1 decision to Sweden in the gold medal game.

- The Saskatoon Blades defeated the Halifax Mooseheads 5-2 in their second preliminary round game at the Memorial Cup. Darren Dietz scored a goal in the win while Dalton Thrower registered a plus-2 differential.

Raphael Diaz will play for gold at the World Hockey Championships, as Team Switzerland continued their dream run in a 3-0 win over the US in semifinal action. Diaz played a team-high 20:19 in what was the ninth-straight win for the Swiss, who will face Sweden in the finals on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Alex Galchenyuk and Danny Kristo will try to help Team USA win bronze at the tourney when they take on Finland on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. ET.

In their first game at the Memorial Cup tournament, Habs prospects Darren Dietz and Dalton Thrower were both held pointless as the host Saskatoon Blades lost to the London Knights 3-2. The Blades will be back in action on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. ET against the Halifax Mooseheads.

The quarterfinals of the 2013 IIHF World Hockey Championship were contested on Thursday in Helsinki and Stockholm. Five members of the Canadiens – Alex Galchenyuk, Danny Kristo, Tomas Plekanec, Raphael Diaz, and P.K. Subban – competed for their respective countries.

In the opening quarterfinal tilt, Galchenyuk scored a goal to help the United States defeat Russia by a score of 8-3 in Helsinki. Galchenyuk registered a plus-1 differential and logged 15:14 of ice time for Team USA. Kristo, meanwhile, had 15 shifts and logged just under eight minutes of ice time for the Americans in the victory.

Team USA will go up against Team Switzerland in the semi-finals after the Swiss earned a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Stockholm. Diaz played 22:29 in the win, picking up an assist on Switzerland’s game-winning goal. Plekanec , who logged 21:35 of ice time and registered five shots on goal, collected an assist in the loss for the Czechs. The Swiss have posted eight straight wins in the tournament.

Canada was eliminated from the tournament after dropping a 3-2 decision to Sweden in a shootout. Subban, who was contesting his first game for Team Canada, logged 19:17 of ice time in the defeat.

The quarterfinals are getting underway at the 2013 IIHF World Hockey Championships being held in Stockholm and Helsinki. Five members of the Canadiens are still involved in the competition, including Tomas Plekanec, Raphael Diaz, Alex Galchenyuk, Danny Kristo and P.K. Subban. Subban will join Team Canada ahead of their quarterfinal matchup against Sweden on Thursday.

Switzerland has been the surprise of the tournament, finishing atop the standings with a perfect record of seven wins, including one in overtime. Diaz played one game for the Swiss during which he logged 14:43 of ice time and registered two shots on goal.

The Czech Republic will go up against Switzerland in the quarterfinals, which will pit Diaz against Plekanec. The centerman has only played one game thus far for his home country, but made the most of his first outing. Plekanec registered three assists, and finished with a plus-2 differential and two shots on goal.

Kristo, meanwhile, has recorded one goal and two assists in seven games played for the Americans. Galchenyuk has made one appearance for Team USA, logging 15:02 of ice time.

Forward Tim Bozon’s tournament has come to a close for France. In five games, the Canadiens prospect registered one assist. He did not suit up for France’s final two games. The French finished the tournament with a record of 2-5-1.

- Carey Price suffered a sprained medial collaterial ligament (MCL) in his knee on the game-tying goal with 23 seconds remaining in the third period of Game 4 against the Senators. He will need up to six weeks to recover from the injury.

- Max Pacioretty suffered a dislocated shoulder during Game 1 of the Canadiens-Senators series. Despite the injury, Pacioretty played in Games 3, 4 and 5. He does not require surgery.

- Ryan White suffered a punctured lung in the latter stages of the second period during Game 3 of the series against the Senators.

- Francis Bouillon was playing with a broken finger ever since his fight against the Sabres’ Steve Ott on April 11th in Buffalo.

- Brandon Prust will undergo an MRI on his shoulder over the course of the coming days. Prust also confirmed that he suffered an injury to his ribs during Game 4 of the Habs’ series against the Senators.

- Alex Galchenyuk (United-States) and Tomas Plekanec (Czech Republic) will join their respective national teams at the World Championships. Raphael Diaz is still waiting for the team medical staff’s green-light before heading out to play for the Swiss team. P.K. Subban mentioned that he has yet to receive a call from Team Canada.

- The Canadiens held an optional skate in Brossard on Thursday morning ahead of their Game 5 matchup against the Senators at the Bell Centre. 21 players took part in the on-ice session, including goaltenders Peter Budaj and Robert Mayer.

- Lars Eller skated on the Bell Sports Complex’s secondary ice surface ahead of the optional skate.

- Mike Blunden and Michaël Bournival skated alongside the rest of the team at practice. Head coach Michel Therrien confirmed that Blunden will take Brandon Prust's spot in the lineup, while Bournival will take part in the warm-up prior to Game 5.

- Carey Price will not return in the series against Ottawa due to a lower-body injury.

- Peter Budaj will make his first career postseason start on Thursday night against the Senators.

- The Canadiens will hold a stretching session at 1 p.m. Several players, in addition to head coach Michel Therrien, will address the media once the stretch is completed.

- Brian Gionta will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a torn left bicep. He will not return this season.

- Peter Budaj and Robert Mayer hit the ice for a practice session along with Mike Blunden, Yannick Weber, Tomas Kaberle and Davis Drewiske a few minutes before the team’s stretching session in Brossard.

- Lars Eller skated alone on Wednesday morning for the first time since being injured by a check from Eric Gryba in Game 1 that saw the Senators’ defenseman suspended for two games.

- Brandon Prust and Ryan White are both suffering from upper body injuries and will not be in the lineup for tomorrow night’s game at the Bell Centre.

- Carey Price has suffered a lower body injury and will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

- While the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing on this side of the pond, Stockholm and Helsinki are co-hosting the 2013 IIHF World Hockey Championships. Among the players participating in the annual competition is a pair of Canadiens hopefuls – Danny Kristo, who is playing for Team USA, and Tim Bozon, a member of Team France.

Bozon, who is currently a member of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, has participated in all of France’s games up to this point in the tournament. He has registered one assist, which he obtained during the first game of the preliminary round against Slovakia.

For his part, Kristo has also participated in all of Team USA’s games thus far in the tournament. In three games, the right-winger has registered two assists, while also posting a minus-3 differential. The 22-year-old, who played with the Hamilton Bulldogs to close out the AHL campaign, also recorded three shots on goal thus far for the Americans.