It will be a Danish team handicapped by the absence of some of its biggest stars that will try to live up to last year's historic semi-final spot at the ice hockey World Championships, which begins in two weeks.
Neither Nicklas Jensen, Oliver Lauridsen, Matias Lassen, nor Nicholas B. Jensen will be present when the Danish squad arrives at the World Championship tournament in Switzerland on 13 May.
"It is a huge loss for us. Nicklas Jensen has been incredibly important for us, and the three backs have been a huge support in the team for a long time", says national coach Mikael Gath.
It is injuries that slow down the seasoned quartet, who together can muster experience from 36 World Cup tournaments. The back line, in particular, has been hit hard with the absence of Lauridsen, Lassen, and Nicholas B. Jensen.
The Danish national team coach does not have an overwhelming selection of players with international experience, but he can be happy that Markus Lauridsen will enter the team's training camp in the coming week.
There are also challenges in the goalkeeper position, because last year's first choice, Frederik Dichow, has not played a club match since October.
Since Frederik Andersen is preoccupied with playoffs in the NHL, Gath has been forced to test new people in the first test matches.
However, Esbjerg's Nicolaj Henriksen has shown uplifting performances in both the match against Latvia last week and Thursday's meeting with Norway in Rodovre.
"He has played two good international matches and only conceded two goals in total, so he has really seized the chance and shown himself in a good way before the World Cup. I'm really happy to see that", says Mikael Gath.
The plan is for Frederik Dichow to be between the posts when Denmark meets Hungary in Odense on Saturday. And if all goes according to plan, reinforcements will soon arrive from North America.
Mads Sogaard has ended the season here, and the national coach expects that he can soon slip into the squad for the World Championships.
"There are still some details that need to be resolved, but we hope and expect that he will be available quickly", says Mikael Gath.
Denmark won Thursday's test match against Norway 3-1. Before the World Championships, the team will be strengthened by the dangerous forwards Joachim Blichfeld and Mikkel Aagaard, who are currently fighting for gold in the Finnish and Swedish leagues, respectively.
The veteran Morten Poulsen joins the squad on Saturday, and then the national coach hopes for further approaches from North America if people like Oliver Bjorkstrand, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, Jonas Rondbjerg, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Frederik Andersen crash out of the playoffs.