It's that special time of year, when Stanley Cup playoff action is heating up and the hockey world can also watch their countries go for gold. After the 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IIHF Men's World Championship is back in 2021. Sixteen teams will compete in the 17-day tourney set to take place in Latvia. Normally a way for NHLers who don't make the postseason to continue plying their trade, the 2021 tournament is jam-packed with youngsters aiming to prove their NHL worth, including a number of prospects set to be drafted in July. Among the group of first-round hopefuls are the United States' Matty Beniers (who won gold at the 2021 juniors) and Canada's Owen Power. There are also recent top draft picks such as Canada's Cole Perfetti (Jets) and Braden Schneider (Rangers). USA Hockey is aiming for its third gold medal (1933 and 1960) while Hockey Canada is going for gold medal No. 26 and its first since 2016. If Canada does snag the gold, then it will tie Russia/the Soviet Union for the most in tournament history. Here's everything to know about the 2021 world ice hockey championship, including how to watch games on TV and stream online, plus the full schedule, scores and standings. Sixteen teams divided into two groups will compete in the preliminary round. Each team will play the other seven teams in their group over the course of the first 12 days of the competition ending on June 1. The top four teams in each group after the prelims will advance to the quarterfinals on June 3. After the semifinals on June 5, the bronze-medal and gold-medal games will take place on Sunday, June 6. The 2021 edition will be held in Riga, Latvia, at two rinks: the Arena Riga and the Olympic Sports Centre. It has been 15 years since Riga hosted the tournament; Sweden won the gold there in 2006. This year's tournament originally was scheduled to be co-hosted by Belarus (Minsk) and Latvia, but the International Ice Hockey Federation moved it in February because of political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada (0-3) has just two more strong chances to avoid going winless at the World Championship, and one of those opportunities is Wednesday against Norway (1-2). After losing to Latvia, the USA, and Germany in their first three contests, the Canadians are in a tie with Italy (0-3) at the bottom of Group B. The odds of making the playoffs don’t look good for the team that entered the tournament at No. 5 in the initial power rankings. Struggles on offense and defense have dug them into this hole, as the team sports a score differential of 2-10. They’ve scored just once in each of their last two games after getting shut out by Latvia to open the Worlds. The game against Germany was arguably their best display in the tournament so far. With just over two minutes left, Canada pulled their goalie down just 2-1, looking for a chance to tie it up. The tactic backfired, and Germany netted the finishing blow, but at least Canada had a chance, unlike their previous games. When the team took the ice against Germany, they did so with a change at goalkeeper, with Adin Hill replacing the older Darcy Kuemper. Outside of the five-point allowance, Kuemper gave the USA team on Sunday, he hadn’t been bad in front of the net. Maybe it was a motivating move to clean things up. What Canada needs to do to end the losing is anyone’s guess. Of course, they need to convert goals, but they’re already out-shooting their opponents. Canada leads the tournament with 107 shots on goal. What more can be done? Maybe Norway will present them with a more equal foe. Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson remains day-to-day with an upper body injury at the 2021 IIHF Men’s World Championships, though he could return to the lineup soon. He was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, but didn’t play in Thursday’s win over Latvia. Elsewhere, Sabres forward Arttu Ruotsalainen scored in Finland’s 3-0 win over Italy.