MINSK, Belarus — Defending champion Sweden made the first step in its title defense with a 3-0 victory over Denmark at the Ice Hockey World Championship Saturday. Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund scored twice in the opening period when the Swedes displayed fast, well organized play. Another Scandinavian superpower, Finland, began its campaign with an upset 3-2 loss to Latvia and Norway blanked Italy 3-0 while Germany prevailed in a shootout to beat Kazakhstan 2-1. Later Saturday, Canada hopes to rebound from Friday's 3-2 loss to France with a win against Slovakia, while the US faces Switzerland a day after it routed host Belarus 6-1. — AP