Sweden’s defense shuts down Canada in a 2-0 victory
A settlement was made between Canada and Sweden in the quarterfinals. The two teams have met 17 times in the Olympics. The most recent meeting was at the Sochi Games in 2014, when Canada defeated Sweden 3-0.
The defense was shown fully when the score was 0-0 during the first 40 minutes of play. When the match went into the third period, it was clear that there would be a mistake or an opportunity for a team. That was exactly what happened, Lucas Wallmark took advantage of a poor turnover to give Sweden the lead with 1-0. Sweden would beat an empty net player and shut out Canada for the 2-0 win. They advance to the semifinal match against ROC.
It was clear from the start that it would be a fast-paced and hard-hitting game. Canada Jack McBain struck a big blow Jonathan Pudas. Sweden would go to the power game, but Canada would successfully kill it.
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About halfway through the goalless period, Sweden’s Joakim Nordström was called for involvement and gave Canada’s second-ranked powerplay a chance to go to work. Sweden’s penalty kill was ranked the worst in the tournament with 60%. Lars Johansson hammered into nets, he stood tall and saved everything that came in his way.
The story of the first period was action from the elite level. The fast-paced first period ended with 0-0 at the break. Matt Tomkins had 10 saves while Johansson had eight.
Anton Lander had the two best chances for Sweden in the second period. However, Tomkins did not give anything back. The shots again were about the same on the way into the break. Sweden had a small advantage of 18 and Canada finished with 17.
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The first two periods were even, but Sweden dominated the first half of the third period. Canada had its first shot at 9:25 during the period.
Immediately after Canada finally had its first shot, Sweden took advantage of a mistake. Canada turned over the puck just inside the blue line with a back pass. McBains drop pass to Eric O’Dell instead found Wallmark as the stick handled the puck nicely before digging it past Thomas. Sweden took the big lead with 1-0.
It would be a long 10 minutes for Sweden to protect its lead. Sweden’s defense dominated the whole match and the final minutes were no different. Canada would make a strong attack around the three-minute mark, but it was too little too late. Sweden’s defense cleared the puck to Lander behind the game, who buried the empty shooter with 1:50 left, which secured the 2-0 victory and Sweden’s ticket to the semifinals.
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