HELSINKI – On Sunday, France took a big win when they beat Kazakhstan 6-3. With the last team getting demoted from the top division, these two teams were considered the main candidates to fight it out amongst themselves in Group A.

“It was good to win the game, but we have five more games ahead of us. But yes, beating Kazakhstan is a step forward in the tournament and hopefully we can win some more games here,” goaltender Cristobal Huet says.

Both teams still have five games left, but at least France now has the upper hand, and is on its way to securing a spot in the top division for 2013 as well.

Should they succeed in that, next year’s tournament would be the sixth consecutive top division World Championship for France, their second-longest streak. France also played in the top pool nine straight tournaments between 1992 and 2000.

After six straight tournaments, one could argue that France has established itself among the top 16 in the world. And yet, France entered this tournament focused on not getting relegated. In recent years, Denmark and Norway have made it to the playoff stage – Norway in 2008 and 2011, Denmark in 2009 – but France seems to be stuck somewhere between 12th and 14th place.

The French need to find a new gear to take their game to the next level.

“To be honest, I don’t think it’s that big of a difference between the top nations and teams like France. All teams here are evenly matched and we’re not boys anymore, we’re men,” says Team USA goaltender Jimmy Howard.

“They need more confidence. We have some guys who’ve had success at this level, and that plays a huge role. On this level, it’s just a matter of going out and playing,” he adds.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare just finished his sixth season in Sweden. The Paris native played the first three seasons in Allsvenskan, the division below the Elitserien, but this year, his third in Skellefteå AIK, he was the alternate captain on a team that made it to the final second year in a row.

What Bellemare has done on his own, the French team can do, he believes, but they have to do it as a team.

“In Sweden, there are no one-man shows. But on the French team, if a defenceman, or a winger, goes after a puck in the corner, the others may just observe what happens, instead of helping him out by blocking players. We don’t do little things like that too well yet,” he says.

Countries like Denmark and Norway are a little ahead in team play, says Bellemare.

“When we report to the national team, we all have to get on the same page, and believe in the system that we have in place. We make too many mistakes which is something you just can’t do here,” he says.

Huet is more cautious with his analysis.

“We have some pretty good players, and we're improving. Sometimes we overplay, instead of just playing it safe. We're still young, and I'm happy with the group of guys we have here,” he says.

So is Bellemare. He says that for a young French player, the way to get better and develop as a player is to sign with a team in one of the bigger European leagues. And for that, there’s no better way to show what you can do than doing it at the World Championship.

And maybe, without even thinking about it, somebody will try to do a toe drag on the offensive blue line, and then turn the puck over.

“When we play as a team, we all look good,” says Bellemare. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Their next shot at a solid 60-minute team effort comes on Monday, against Canada.

“If we can avoid mistakes, the game against Canada will be interesting. Last year we were down 3-1 halfway through and we lost control of it. I’m not going to say that we can beat them, but it can be an interesting game for sure,” Bellemare says.

RISTO PAKARINEN