‘We were sleepy’: Sweden unhappy after tough loss to rival Finland
A marquee rivalry matchup has left one of international hockey’s powerhouses disappointed with its efforts.
In the biggest game in Group B, Finland came away with a big 4-1 win over Sweden, putting Tre Kronor’s hopes of finishing first in the group in jeopardy.
Sweden might have led the final shot count 35-24, but that’s because the team ramped up its offense in the final 20 minutes, firing 17 shots at Finnish goaltender Juuse Saros. Yet, it wasn’t enough as the Swedes lost for the first time in Milan.
Swedish captain Gabriel Landeskog noted the team’s slow start as a cause for the team’s defeat.
“We were sleepy in the first period,” Landeskog told the media. “They came on and played hard. We got better as the second and third went on, but at that point, they had a comfortable lead, and they were able to block lots of shots.”
It marked the second time that Sweden has given up the first goal in a game in the tournament. Against Italy on Wednesday, a terrible gaffe from goaltender Filip Gustavsson gave the host nation an early lead. Though Sweden dominated the play, they had to battle hard to scrounge up a 5-2 victory over the underdogs.
On Friday, goals from Nikolas Matinpalo and Anton Lundell put the Swedes down 2-0 in the opening period.
Sweden forward Adrian Kempe admitted that the physical play the team showcased coming out of the first intermission helped turn the play back in their favor.
“We didn’t really like the way we played in the first,” Kempe said. “Talked about going out and being more physical and stuff like that. That was the turning point for us in the game, when we started playing better, and drawing penalties and getting momentum.”
Kempe mentioned that Saros and some bad puck luck hurt the team’s chances to rally from the early deficit.
“The puck didn’t want to go in for us, so that was unfortunate, but we did a good job creating chances and all that kind of stuff.”
Sweden (1-0-1) can still finish atop Group B, or at least earn a bye to the quarterfinals. They take on Slovakia (2-0-0) on Saturday. A win for Sweden, along with a Finland loss to Italy, would put Tre Kronor in first.
Landeskog noted that it won’t be easy to beat Slovakia, but that’s to be expected at the Winter Games.
“We’re here to compete,” Landeskog said. “We knew it was going to be hard. Every game is going to be a challenge. That’s the way it is. We’ll recharge and we’ll see what we can do better. We’ll get back at it tomorrow.”
Puck drop is set for 6:10 a.m. ET.