Daniel Alfredsson and his Swedish teammates can exhale now.

After dominating Denmark for 40 minutes, the Tre Kronor was forced to hold on for a 6-4 victory over their plucky rivals in a preliminary round matchup Monday in Stockholm at the 2012 IIHF world hockey championship.

When all was said and done, Alfredsson's goal at the 0:43 mark of the second period — which gave Sweden a 5-1 lead at the time — proved to be the game-winner. The Swedes, whose roster also includes Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson and forward prospect Jakob Silfverberg, would run their lead to 6-1 before the Danes made a late charge.

Sweden held a wide 42-18 edge in shots on goal, including a 37-10 margin through two periods, in the game played at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. Loui Eriksson of the Dallas Stars had two goals and set up Alfredsson's goal to lead the Tre Kronor, who improved to 3-0 in the tournament.

Karlsson (five), Alfredsson (four) and Silferberg (three) combined for 12 shots on goal for the Swedes.

Also on Monday, Senators forward Milan Michalek picked up an assist as the Czech Republic edged Norway 4-3 in Stockholm in a game that was decided by a shootout. The Czechs (1-1-1) stand third in their pool behind unbeaten Sweden and Russia (2-0-0).

Meanwhile, at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Canada rolled to a 7-2 victory over France, whose lineup included Senators forward prospect Stephane Da Costa.

On Tuesday, Senators forward Kaspars Daugavins and Latvia aim for their second straight win when they face off against Italy in Stockholm (10:15 a.m.). Fans can watch a free web stream of all games at the 2012 worlds on the IIHF's YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/icehockey).