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DALLAS -- Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen suffered a minor knee injury at the World Championship, according to Dallas goaltending coach Mike Valley.

Lehtonen was injured in Sunday's game between Finland and the United States when Team USA forward Bobby Ryan was tripped and then slid into Lehtonen, who left the game and did not return.

Valley said the injury, which is not serious, will likely sideline Lehtonen for two to three weeks. He should be fine after that.

Lehtonen will not play for Finland for the rest of the World Championship, which enters the playoff round on Thursday.

Thursday’s World Championship games (quarterfinals)
Canada vs. Slovakia, 5:00 a.m.
Russia vs. Norway, 7:45 a.m.
USA vs. Finland, 10:30 a.m.
Sweden vs. Czech Republic, 1:15 p.m.

Alex Goligoski scored a goal as Team USA defeated Switzerland 5-2 in its final game of the preliminary round at the World Championship on Tuesday. Team USA finished second in Group H and will play Finland in the quarterfinal on Thursday.

Forward Jamie Benn had no points and one shot on goal in Canada’s 5-1 victory over Belarus. Canada, which finished first in Group H, will play Slovakia in the quarterfinals.

Forward Loui Eriksson scored a goal for Sweden, which ended preliminary play with a 4-0 victory over Latvia. The Swedes finished second in Group S and will take on Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.

Defenseman Philip Larsen picked up an assist in Denmark’s 6-2 loss to Norway on Tuesday. Larsen ended the tournament with two assists and minus-six rating in seven games. He led Denmark, which finished 13th in the tournament, with 25:05 of ice time per game.

Wednesday is a day off at the tournament. The quarterfinals are on Thursday.

Tuesday’s games

Canada 5, Belarus 1
Norway 6, Denmark 2
Slovakia 5, France 4
Czech Republic 8, Germany 1
USA 5, Switzerland 2

Thursday’s games (quarterfinals)

Canada vs. Slovakia, 5:00 a.m.
Russia vs. Norway, 7:45 a.m.
USA vs. Finland, 10:30 a.m.
Sweden vs. Czech Republic, 1:15 p.m.

Here is the latest in a series of updates on the top prospects of the Dallas Stars. This one looks at forward Reilly Smith, who joined the team at the end of the season after wrapping up his college career at Miami University.

Smith, as a junior, had 30 goals in 39 games, finishing second in the nation to fellow Stars prospect Austin Smith. His 48 points were tied for tenth in the nation.

Smith, a third round pick (69th overall) in 2009, was named First Team All-CCHA, Second-Team All-American by Inside College Hockey, and was among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. In his three years at Miami he registered 122 points (66 goals, 56 assists) in 121 games.

“The confidence has been a huge factor for me in being able to find the back of the net, and also the physical aspect of it. I’ve put on a lot of weight and strength over the three years at Miami,” said Smith, who was 160 pounds when arrived at Miami and was 185 pounds when he left. “All of that correlated to my success in college hockey.”

After his college career ended he signed a three-year entry-level with Dallas and was put on the NHL roster, making his debut in a game at Edmonton on March 28. He played 4:05 and had one shot on goal.

“Even though I played only four minutes I tried to soak in every moment of it. Just being in Edmonton and having so much history around you, being a small part of it was a great experience,” Smith said. “Being my first NHL game it was phenomenal, getting the win was great and I got my feet wet for the next game in Vancouver.”

Smith played 8:39 and had no points in that game against Vancouver, was a healthy scratch for the next three games and then played in the season finale against St. Louis, picking up no points and two penalty minutes in 12:28 of ice time.

“He has some real nice attributes as far as an offensive player goes. He just needs to become more familiar with our defensive structure and getting used to playing with pro players,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “I think he is going to be a good player in the future.”

The 21-year-old Smith, who is a left shot but plays both right and left wing, has speed, skill and a good shot. He’s projected as a top six forward.

“Reilly has been a real good player from the time we drafted him. He had a real good college career. It was nice that he got into a few games in Dallas to give him a preview of what the NHL is all about and to see what it takes to play at that level,” said Les Jackson, Dallas Stars Director of Player Personnel. “He’s showed at every level he’s played at that he is a good player. Now it will be his challenge to go to the American League or to our team, if he makes it, to learn the lessons to adjust to be a good pro. I think it will take him some time, but he’ll be a good offensive player at the pro level.”

As for Smith’s chances of starting next season at the NHL level, Jackson said time will tell.

“That will depend on his summer and how he comes in,” Jackson said. “Realistically the first step should be playing in the American League and being a good player there, but if he is good enough to bypass that it will be great for us. Time will tell that for sure.”

Defenseman Philip Larsen was the only Dallas Star playing at the World Championship on Monday. He had no points, two shots and a plus-one rating in 24:40 of ice time as Denmark won its first game of the tournament, defeating Latvia by a 2-0 score.

Finland, which is without injured Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen, defeated Kazakhstan 4-1 on Monday. Lehtonen is out “until further notice” with a lower body injury. The Finns also were without defenseman Anssi Salmela, who was suspended for three games for his hit on Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski in Sunday’s game against the United States.

Tuesday is the final day of the preliminary round.

Monday’s games

France 2, Belarus 1
Denmark 2, Latvia 0
Finland 4, Kazakhstan 1
Russia 4, Italy 0

Tuesday’s games

Canada vs. Belarus, 4:15 a.m.
Norway vs. Denmark, 5:15 a.m.
Slovakia vs. France, 8:15 a.m.
Czech Republic vs. Germany, 9:15 a.m.
USA vs. Switzerland, 12:15 p.m.
Sweden vs. Latvia, 1:15 p.m.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has suspended Finland's Anssi Salmela three games for his hit on Team USA defenseman Alex Goligoski in Sunday's game between the two teams.

The incident happened in the third period of the Team USA's 5-0 victory. Salmela hit Goligoski from behind, sending him violently into the endboards. Salmela was given a boarding major and a game misconduct. Goligoski was shaken up on the play but finished the game.

Here's video of the hit:

Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen is out with a lower body injury for Finland at the World Championship.

Lehtonen was injured in the third period of Sunday's 5-0 loss to the United States when Team USA's Bobby Ryan was tripped and then slid into him. Lehtonen left the game after stopping 25 of 30 shots in the loss.

According to the International Ice Hockey Federation, Finland said that Lehtonen is out "until further notice."

Here's the video of the play where Lehtonen was injured.

Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen left Sunday’s World Championship game between Finland and the United States with a lower body injury after a collision with Team USA’s Bobby Ryan.

It happened with just over seven minutes left in the game when Ryan fell on Lehtonen in the Finnish crease. Lehtonen left the game and was replaced by Petri Vehanen.

There was no immediate word on the specifics of Lehtonen’s injury or the extent.

“Lehtonen is injured. That is all I know,” Finland coach Jukka Jalonen told media after the game.

Lehtonen stopped 25 of 30 shots in the game, which the USA won 5-0. It was a rough outing for Lehtonen, who was knocked around a few times in the crease by a U.S. team that dominated play from the drop of the puck.

Earlier in the third period, Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski was shaken up when he was hit from behind and slammed hard into the endboards by Finland’s Anssi Salmela, who received a boarding major and game misconduct. Goligoski returned to the game. Salmela is expected to face disciplinary action from the IIHF.

Goligoski had one assist and three shots on goal in 18:50 of playing time for the USA, which clinched a berth in the quarterfinals with its victory.

Stars goalie Richard Bachman backed up Jimmy Howard, who stopped all 18 shots he faced to earn the shutout for Team USA.

Sunday’s games

USA 5, Finland 0
Russia 2, Czech Republic 0
Slovakia 1, Switzerland 0
Norway 12, Germany 4

Monday’s games

Belarus vs. France, 8:15 a.m.
Latvia vs. Denmark, 9:15 a.m.
Kazakhstan vs. Finland, 12:15 p.m.
Italy vs. Russia, 1:15 p.m.

Jamie Benn had one assist, two shots and was a plus-1 in Canada’s 8-0 win over Kazakhstan. Benn, who centered a line with Teddy Purcell and Alex Burrows, won seven of 13 faceoffs in the game.

Loui Eriksson had one assist, two shots and was a plus-1 in Sweden’s 4-0 victory over Italy. Eriksson has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 10 games for Sweden in the tournament.

Philip Larsen played a game-high 27:00 for Denmark, which lost 2-1 to Germany. Larsen had no points, four shots on goal and was a minus-1 for Denmark, which is 0-4-1 in the tournament.

Saturday’s games

Slovakia 5, Belarus 1
Norway 3, Latvia 0
France 4, Switzerland 2
Germany 2, Denmark 1
Canada 8, Kazakhstan 0
Sweden 4, Italy 0

Sunday’s games

Finland vs. USA, 8:15 a.m.
Russia vs. Czech Republic, 9:15 a.m.
Switzerland vs. Slovakia, 12:15 p.m.
Germany vs. Norway, 1:15 p.m.

The latest in a series on top prospects looks at forward Colton Sceviour, who had a career year with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

Sceviour, a fourth-round pick (112^th overall) in 2007, posted careers high in goals (21), assists (32) and points (53) while playing 75 games for Texas.

He accomplished that despite getting off to a slow start, registering just 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in his first 27 games. Over his final 48 games he was almost a point-a-game player, picking up 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists).

“He had a really good season,” said Les Jackson, Dallas Stars Director of Player Personnel. “I think he has earned the opportunity to have a good look this fall.”

Sceviour, who is scheduled to be a restricted free agent on July 1, is a versatile, two-way player who can play all three forward positions. At the AHL level he has played both sides of special teams.

He played one game for the Dallas Stars in 2010-11, but did not get a call up this past season. That slow start to the season might have put him behind the eight-ball in that regard.

But the strong finish to the season has put him in position to compete for playing time in the NHL next season, or possibly even a roster spot, according to Jackson.

“I suspect he is right around having a role with the big team next season, whether it would be getting in a few games to get in game experience or grab a spot in the 10-14 (forward) group,” Jackson said.

Stars prospects Jamie Oleksiak and Brett Ritchie fell short in their bid to win the Ontario Hockey League championship and advance to the Memorial Cup.

Their Niagara IceDogs team lost 2-1 to London in Game 5 of the OHL Finals Friday night. London won the series 4-1.

Oleksiak, a defenseman who was taken in the first round (14^th overall) in 2011, had four assists and a plus-two rating in 20 playoff games. He is expected to turn pro next season and play for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

Ritchie, a right wing who taken in the second round (44^th overall) in 2011, had three goals, eight assists and an even rating in 19 playoff games. He’s expected to stay in junior hockey next season.

Stars goaltender Richard Bachman made his first appearance at the World Championship on Friday, stopping 17 of 19 shots as Team USA defeated Kazakhstan in overtime, 3-2.

“I had a lot of things going through my head -- I was excited to throw on the USA jersey and be a starter for a game,” Bachman told USAHockey.com. “I hadn’t played in 10 days -- since I had a little game action in the exhibition against Sweden. For me, I was just trying to get comfortable with my surroundings and just settle in.”

Kazakhstan, which came into the game with an 0-4 record, gave the U.S. all it could handle and forced Bachman to make some quality saves throughout the game.

Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski had an assist, a game-high eight shots on goal and was a plus-three for the USA, which outshot Kazakhstan 50-19.

Carolina’s Justin Faulk scored two goals for the USA, including the game-winner with 22 seconds left in overtime.

Canada defeated Finland 5-3 on Friday. Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen had 21 saves on 25 shots for the Finns, who lost for the first time in the tournament. Stars forward Jamie Benn had no points, one shot and two penalty minutes for the Canadians.

Stars forward Loui Eriksson had two assists, a game-high 10 shots on goal, but Sweden fell to Russia 6-3 in a battle of unbeaten teams. Russia is now the only unbeaten in the preliminary round at 5-0-0.

Eriksson now has nine points (three goals, six assists) in five games and ranks second in scoring at the tournament to Russia’s Evgeni Malkin, who had five points (three goals, two assists) in Friday’s game and now has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in five games.

Vincour won’t play at tournament

The Czech Republic made it official Friday that Stars forward Tomas Vincour won’t play at the World Championship. The Czechs registered their final three players for the tournament to bring their active roster to the 25-man limit and Vincour wasn’t among them.

Friday’s games

USA 3, Kazakhstan 2 (OT)
Czech Republic 6, Italy 0
Canada 5, Finland 3
Russia 7, Sweden 7-3

Saturday’s games

Slovakia vs. Belarus, 4:15 a.m.
Norway vs. Latvia, 5:15 a.m.
Switzerland vs. France, 8:15 a.m.
Germany vs. Denmark, 9:15 a.m.
Kazakhstan vs. Canada, 12:15 p.m.
Italy vs. Sweden, 1:15 p.m.

Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski had no points and two shots on goal in Team USA’s 5-3 win over Belarus. Goaltender Richard Bachman backed up Jimmy Howard again, but could get the start in Friday’s game when the USA takes on Kazakhstan.

Defenseman Philip Larsen had no points and a game-high six shots on goal in Denmark’s 3-1 loss to Russia on Thursday.

Kari Lehtonen did not dress for Finland, which defeated France 7-1 and improved to 4-0-0 in preliminary round play. Finland plays Canada on Friday.

Tomas Vincour did not play for Czech Republic, which defeated Latvia 3-1.

Thursday’s games

USA 5, Belarus 3
Russia 3, Denmark 1
Finland 7, France 1
Czech Republic 3, Latvia 1

Friday’s games

Kazakhstan vs. USA, 8:15 a.m.
Italy vs. Czech Republic, 9:15 a.m.
Finland vs. Canada, 12:15 p.m.
Russia vs. Sweden, 1:15 p.m.

The Dallas Stars made the hiring of former GM Bob Gainey as a consultant official today. Gainey will be introduced at a press conference next Wednesday. Here's the release from the Stars.

The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has hired Bob Gainey as Senior Advisor to the Hockey Department.

Gainey, 58, returns for his second stint with the Stars’ organization. He was the club’s head coach from 1990-1996, and served as General Manager of the team from 1992-2002. Gainey was truly the architect in leading the Stars franchise to seven consecutive playoff berths, five division titles, two Stanley Cup Finals appearances, and of course, the 1999 Stanley Cup championship.

"I have great faith in the vision Tom Gaglardi, Joe Nieuwendyk and Jim Lites have in rebuilding this franchise,” said Gainey. “I'm looking forward to rejoining the organization, and lending my advice and guidance as we strive to get the Stars back on top."

"I'm extremely pleased that we are adding a respected hockey man the caliber of Bob Gainey as a senior advisor to our staff,” said Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk. “His experience and wisdom in this business is second-to-none, and he'll be an incredible asset as we continue to build our team to championship levels."

A native of Peterborough, Ontario, Gainey most recently worked in the Montreal Canadiens organization, serving in a variety of capacities, including general manager of the club from 2003-2010. He served as the Habs’ interim head coach on two occasions and was most recently a special advisor to the general manager. In his time with the Canadiens, he helped lead the team to playoff berths in four of five seasons as GM, including the 2007-08 season when Montreal ended the regular season with the Eastern Conference’s best record.

“The Stars had a fantastic opportunity to add a universally-respected hockey man in Bob Gainey to the mix, and his presence and voice will be extremely beneficial to the group moving forward,” said Stars President Jim Lites.

A 1992 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Gainey won five Stanley Cups as a player, an NHL-record four Selke Trophies as the league’s best defensive forward, as well as the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 1978 Playoffs. In 1,160 career regular season NHL games, all with the Montreal Canadiens, Gainey amassed 239 goals and 262 assists for 501 points. He added 73 points (25 goals, 48 points) in 182 career Stanley Playoff contests.

The Dallas Stars are close to hiring former GM Bob Gainey as a consultant, team president and CEO Jim Lites said Wednesday. An official announcement is expected next week.

“I’m a big fan,” Lites said. “We’re excited because of what Bob brings to this market, to this team and to the needs we’ve identified collectively. I just think he is going to be great.”

Gainey, who won five Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens as a player, joined the Stars franchise as head coach in 1990 and became GM in 1992. He stepped down as coach in 1996, but kept the GM title through 2002. He was the GM when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999.

He also served as Montreal’s GM from 2003-2010 and had been a consultant with the Canadiens until just recently.

Lites said Gainey could consult on a variety issues throughout the organization, especially as an extra voice of input for GM Joe Nieuwendyk.

“He’s actually offered to help in any way he can,” Lites said. “But’s he’s really going to be a senior adviser guy on issues like, not so much who should we hire as opposed to do we need to hire anybody? How do you want to grow? How do we make ourselves bigger and better? Do we need more experience in a particular place? Do we need a more experienced guy in Cedar Park and who should those candidates be?

“At the end of the day those decisions will be made by Joe but Joe will enjoy, I think, a deeper, richer voice. And Joe has been real supportive. Joe has good chemistry with Bob."

Lites added that the hiring of Gainey is another sign that Tom Gaglardi is willing to do what it takes to get the franchise on the right track.

“The market will appreciate that Tom Gaglardi is saying that I am going to make us better,” Lites said. “You don’t get Bob Gainey for ten bucks.”

Prospect Note: OHL Finals

Dallas Stars prospects Jamie Oleksiak and Brett Ritchie are on the brink of elimination in the Ontario Hockey League Finals. Their Niagara team lost 4-1 to London Wednesday night in Game 4 of the series.

London leads the series 3-1. Ritchie had an assist in Wednesday’s game. Game 5 is Friday night.

The winner of the series will advance to the Memorial Cup, which will feature the champions of the Western Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and this year’s host team, the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL.

Stars forward Loui Eriksson picked up an assist as Sweden improved to 4-0-0 with a 5-2 win over Germany at the World Championship on Wednesday.

Eriksson, who is playing on a line with Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, leads the tournament in scoring with seven points (three goals, four assists) in four games.

Stars forward Jamie Benn had no points, no shots and was even in Canada’s 3-2 victory over Switzerland. Benn again played on a line with Chicago’s Patrick Sharp and Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Forward Tomas Vincour is still with the Czech Republic team at the World Championship, but his chances of playing in the tournament appear to be dwindling. The Czech’s have been adding players to their roster as teams get eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Martin Erat of the Nashville Predators is the latest. Philadelphia’s Jakub Voracek could be next, and if he is added the Czech’s 25-man active roster for the tournament would be filled and there would be no room for Vincour.

Wednesday’s games

Slovakia 4, Kazakhstan 2
Norway 6, Italy 2
Canada 3, Switzerland 2
Sweden 5, Germany 2

Thursday’s games

USA vs. Belarus, 8:15 a.m.
Denmark vs. Russia, 9:15 a.m.
France vs. Finland, 12:15 p.m.
Czech Republic vs. Latvia, 1:15 p.m.