Kings Johnson & Greene get things started for Team USA

The IIHF's World Hockey Championships kick off on Friday in Germany. As a tune-up, Team USA played their lone pre-tournament game earlier today. And a pair of Kings defensemen helped lead the charge. Jack Johnson had a goal, while Matt Greene chipped in with an assist in the 3-1 win.

The following is a snipet of the official game recap from USA Hockey:

After Yorick Treille gave France a 1-0 lead at 11:01 of the first period, Okposo knotted the score with his first marker 4:52 into the middle frame. Matt Greene (Grand Ledge, Mich./Los Angeles Kings/Univ. of North Dakota) sent a pass to Nick Foligno (Buffalo, N.Y./Ottawa Senators), who fed Okposo with a cross-ice goalmouth pass for a tap-in goal past Fabrice Lhenry.

While on the power play, the U.S. grabbed a 2-1 advantage with 7:29 remaining in the second period. T.J. Oshie (Warroad, Minn./St. Louis Blues/Univ. of North Dakota) collected a Brandon Dubinsky (Anchorage, Alaska/New York Rangers) pass behind the French net and fed Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Los Angeles Kings/Univ. of Michigan) at the top of the left circle, where he fired a one-timer over Lhenry's blocker.

You can read the full report by clicking here.

Team USA will begin pool play on Friday vs. host Germany. They'll then play again on 5/10 and 5/12.  For you diehards out there, you can watch the games online for a small fee. Just click here for the details.

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