Before the USA-China, ex-NHL members helped Sweden to win the Olympic premiere | News, sports, jobs
By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer
BEIJING (AP) – Former NHL strikers Lucas Wallmark and Anton Lander scored goals to help Sweden beat Latvia 3-2 on Thursday in each team’s start to the men’s Olympic hockey tournament.
Wallmark had one goal on even strength and another on powerplay. He was also in the penalty box for two Latvia goals, which meant that the points were closer than the game on the ice, which was dominated by Sweden during the first two periods.
“We played pretty stable, I think, for 40 minutes,” said Wallmark, who played in 204 NHL games with Carolina, Chicago and Florida. “We got a little small in the third, but overall it’s nice to get ‘W’ and start in the right direction and we have something to build on.”
By beating Latvia 26-17 and winning the rules, Sweden avoided the type of loss that the Czechs experienced on Wednesday night, the Olympic newcomer beat Denmark 40-17 but lost 2-1.
“There are no easy games: we saw it last night,” said Sweden center Marcus Kruger, who, like Wallmark, played for the Blackhawks in the NHL. “Every team here is capable of doing something really good, so we wanted a good start. It was not perfect, but we got the result we wanted.”
The Swedes built up a three-goal lead just after the middle of the match. Latvia’s goal by Renars Krastenbergs and Nikolajs Jelisejevs made it interesting, but Sweden’s goalkeeper Lars Johansson made 15 saves to preserve the victory.
The game took place several hours before the United States opens against China, which has several American players who have naturalized to represent the host country. Boston University’s Drew Commesso, a Blackhawks prospect, is expected to start and become the youngest American goalkeeper to play in the Olympics.
“You’re just starting to want to play,” said American center Matty Beniers, one of 15 college players on the team. “You train twice and you just start itching to play. You just want to get into the tournament. We’m ready to go.”
Finland were ready to go in their first match and beat Slovakia 6-2 after a hat trick from Sakari Manninen on his 30th birthday. Juraj Slavkovsky, the youngest player in the tournament and an expected top-10 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, scored Slovakia’s goal.
“It is positive that I scored two goals, but it is important that we did not win,” said the 17-year-old forward. “We have to learn from it, from mistakes, and just get better.”
Canada face defending silver medalist Germany in the second remaining match on Thursday. The Russians play their next match on Friday against Denmark after starting the tournament by defeating Switzerland 1-0.
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