Although the Nordic rivalry game did not have a massive impact on the standings, it did have the feel of a game that did. There is no time that these archrivals meet where the expectations should be anything less than a couple hours of good entertainment, as even when the skill disparity seems to be the largest, they still manage to keep things interesting. Sweden, already locked into first place in group “A,” failed to finish off Finland in regulation and dropped the game in the shootout. They are now 3-1 in group play as they are handed their first loss with a final score of 5-4.
Finland broke Sweden’s shutout streak in the first period and forced the hometown team to play down a goal for the first time in the tournament. Sweden would allow another before heading into the first intermission down by two. A couple of quick goals from Sweden tied up the game early in the second period before some back-and-forth saw Sweden end the second up by one. Finland took advantage of a pulled goalie late in the third to tie the game, and after a very defensive-minded overtime period, they would win the skills competition to hand Sweden a loss.
Top Players Continue Being Game Changers
There is little question about which players have risen to the top of a very strong Team Sweden. The top line of Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Noah Ostlund, and Anton Wahlberg is constantly being praised, and they deserve it because they have caused trouble for every team they have faced, and so far, no one has been able to slow them down in the least. Their abilities become even more dangerous on the man’s advantage as Lekkerimaki adds another power-play goal to his total and has their only goal in the shootout.
Theo Lindstein has gotten plenty of recognition as one of the best defenders in the tournament but is somehow still underrated. The St. Louis Blues first-round pick from 2023 has been a major component in Sweden getting their trio of shutouts, but he has been held off the scoresheet until halfway through the second period when he picked a corner from the blueline to give Sweden their third goal of the period.
Tale of Two Teams
In the first period, Sweden looked like a team that knew this game had no impact on where they would end up in the standings. They had played a perfect tournament up until that point, and they were just not driving plays with the same decisiveness they had shown in their previous competitions. Finland had the jump on the puck, they were winning every board battle, and their mindset was just superior. Sweden had just four shots in the period.
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Whatever was said in the locker room in that first intermission completely rejuvenated their drive because a completely different group hit the ice in the second period. Their play improved drastically at five-on-five, winning battles, making passes, and just generally looking more like the team we had seen in previous games. That increase in pace also helped them to draw a couple of penalties, which they took full advantage of. They had 16 shots in the second alone, four times the amount they generated in the first.
Goaltending Carousel Continues
Usually, when a goaltender gets two shutouts, he would easily claim the title of starting goaltender for the rest of the tournament, barring a complete meltdown. Hugo Havelid had done just that by shutting out Team Canada and likely could have started the rest of Sweden’s games thanks to a day off between the end of group play and the start of the knock-out rounds. Instead, Sweden’s coaching staff decided to use the game as an opportunity to see if Melker Thelin, who also had not allowed a goal, could be a viable option moving forward.
Thelin was solid, and he did make some great saves in the third period, but it would be surprising if we didn’t see Hugo Havelid in the net moving forward. It is hard to argue with the results Havelid has had despite being a smaller netminder. His positioning works great with the way Sweden’s defense likes to work in front of him but is also capable of quick attacks on offensive drives. The great news for Sweden is that they really can’t go wrong with either goaltender.
Every Game Counts Moving Forward
From this point forward, every single game could get them one step closer to that elusive gold medal, but all it takes is one loss for those hopes to be completely shattered. Their quarterfinal opponent will be the loser of the game between Czechia and Switzerland. Switzerland is likely the preferred opponent of the two, but no matter who they end up facing, the competition really ramps up once you hit the elimination rounds. They will need to bring everything they have to every game if they want to see it through to the end.
