The Swiss ice hockey players win 4:1 against Kazakhstan at the end of the preliminary round – the World Cup quarterfinals follow on Thursday

Swiss television tried to build excitement ahead of the national team's final group match at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Herning. The presenter spoke of an "important game" for both teams, thereby somewhat distorting reality. After all, they want to appear relevant, even if ice hockey matches at lunchtime are certainly not ratings-worthy.

The reality turned out to be somewhat different: For the Kazakhs, it was a game of last hope. A point would have been enough for them to at least stay in Group A. National coach Patrick Fischer's team, on the other hand, had already secured its place in the quarterfinals. Their opponents in Thursday's quarterfinal will not be known until Tuesday evening.

The Kazakhs surprisingly dominated the game for long stretches and also had the first chances. It took almost ten minutes before Kazakh goalkeeper Maxim Pawlenko was called into action for the first time. The underdogs even took the lead, and it took until 4.4 seconds before the end of the middle period before Kevin Fiala at least tied the game.

Nevertheless, the final scoreboard showed a seemingly comfortable 4-1 victory for the Swiss. The fact that their performance on the way to this victory was their worst at the tournament in Herning so far hardly mattered in retrospect. Patrick Fischer said after the match: "We're happy we won. We didn't get off to a good start. The arena was empty, and we needed some time to get going. Today was difficult, but we all knew we had qualified and that the really big matches were yet to come."

Added to this was the unrest caused by Nino Niederreiter's arrival. The 32-year-old from Chur arrived from Winnipeg, Denmark, early Tuesday morning. He stepped straight from the plane into his gear. In an interview with Swiss television after the match, he said: "I was nervous because I didn't know if my poles and equipment would arrive on time. When I saw them on the luggage cart at the airport, I relaxed a bit."

Niederreiter and the Winnipeg Jets, the team with the highest points in the regular season, lost to the Dallas Stars in the NHL playoffs on Sunday night. First, he had to fly back to Canada to complete the formalities. But on the first night after the quarterfinal exit, he had already spoken to Fischer on the phone and signaled to the national coach that he absolutely wanted to be part of the World Cup. When the Swiss national team calls, Niederreiter always rushes to help. He has already been an important piece of the puzzle on the way to the silver medals in 2013, 2018, and 2024.

Niederreiter formed the Swiss starting lineup in the match against Kazakhstan, along with fellow ZSC strikers Sven Andrighetto and Denis Malgin. Niederreiter was already a force to be reckoned with in the first match, thanks in part to his strong physique – despite the seven-hour time difference and the resulting jet lag. He had a hand in Andres Ambühl's decisive 3-1 goal.

But this newly formed starting lineup isn't the only one shining in the Swiss team. The 41-year-old team senior Andres Ambühl scored his fourth goal of the current tournament, demonstrating once again that, despite his impending retirement, he's anything but past his prime.

Damien Riat is also flourishing in the national team. The Lausanne HC striker had to give up his place on the starting lineup alongside Malgin and Andrighetto to Niederreiter. With a skillful shot between his own legs, he scored the 4-1 goal, his fifth goal of the World Cup. Only Malgin (7) has scored more goals for the Swiss in Herning than the 28-year-old from French-speaking Switzerland.

Riat's talent is well known. He was drafted in the fourth round, number 117, by the Washington Capitals in the 2016 draft. However, he never managed to make more than a few appearances overseas for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. From Geneva, he moved via Biel to Lausanne, where he has since become a key player.

This World Cup may yet open the door to the NHL for Riat. But to sustainably attract overseas interest, Riat will likely need more goals in Thursday's quarterfinals and the medal games this weekend.

Despite the mixed impression in the largely meaningless match against Kazakhstan, the team once again showed what it is capable of. Almost no one is talking about Nico Hischier, who was injured in the match against Germany and will be out for the rest of the World Cup.

Malgin and Andrighetto are playing at the level of NHL players, Riat and Ambühl are not far behind, and thanks to Nino Niederreiter, the team has also gained physical strength. The Graubünden native is hard to control, especially in one-on-one duels along the boards, but also in front of the goal. With him, the Swiss have once again matured into medal contenders just in time for the decisive tournament phase. These are unusual days and weeks for Swiss ice hockey.