Denmark's ice hockey selection made its first clear mark of respect at the World Cup in Finland in the race for the quarter-finals.
In the German group A, the Danes defeated Kazakhstan surprisingly well 9-1 (3-0, 4-0, 2-1) in Helsinki on Saturday and made a convincing debut at the tournament.
Kazakhstan narrowly avoided a double-digit defeat, scoring a consolation goal in the 59th minute.
Frederik Storm from ERC Ingolstadt was one of the scorers.
Joachim Blichfeld of the San Jose Barracuda of the second-rate North American AHL stood out with three goals.
Denmark is the fourth German opponent in the preliminary round on May 19 (4:20 p.m. on Sport1).
National coach Toni Söderholm will face Kazakhstan in the penultimate group game on May 22 (4:20 p.m. on Sport1).
The top four teams in each of the two groups of eight advance to the quarterfinals.
In Group B in Tampere, eleven-time world champions Sweden managed a 3-1 (2-1, 1-0, 0-0) win against outsiders Austria.
Like France, the Austrians are playing as substitutes at the A World Cup because Russia and Belarus were excluded from the tournament as a result of the Russian attack.