|
Sweden, Led by Lundqvist Shutout and Stralman Goal, Beats Finland 2-0 |
|
|
Levine: Team Sweden World Cup
Team Sweden World Cup Coverage • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
|
|
|
Sweden and Finland played a fairly tight checking game Tuesday, which was decided by a line goal by Anton Stralman. The final was 2-0 thanks to an empty net in the closing seconds by Loui Eriksson, but Stralman's tally was the difference maker. Henrik Lundqvist, who missed Sunday's win over Russia with the flu, at least for one day, put aside all the questions about his pre-tourney performance and signs of decline, by stopping all 36 he faced to notch the shutout.
Lundqvist stopped 11 shots in the first, 12 in the second and 13 in the third. His glove hand was a major weapon in the win, constantly thwarting the Finns. Anytime Finland mounted a challenge or put a quality shot on net, Lundqvist was more than up to the task. It's unclear yet if Lundqvist will play Wednesday against North America, but there is a pretty strong probability that this will be the case.
The one true goal scored by Sweden came about thanks to great work on the forecheck and chemistry by the Sedin twins and read by Stralman. The Sedins cycled the puck retaining possession. Daniel got to puck to Henrik behind the net. Henrik was to the side of the cage and found Stralman, who read the play beautifully and cut to the net, beating Joonas Donskoi to the spot. Stralman got just enough of the puck to tip it past Tuukka Rask, who was solid stopping the other 27 shots he faced, but he was unable to save Stralman's shot, which slipped just under his pad.
Anton Stralman goal:
Sweden could be without two players against North America. Sami Lepisto's hit on Mikael Backlund and Leo Komarov's low-bridge check on Victor Hedman, could sidelined both players. Each were able to continue Tuesday but it remains to be seen if there was any lingering effects from both incidents. If Backlund is unable to go, Patrik Berglund would slide in, while if Hedman is out, Hampus Lindholm would dress and play alongside Stralman.
Lepisto hit on Backlund
The check was high with principal contact to the head and it did look like Lepisto extended his arms following the check. No penalty was called and it did appear that he kept his arms in on initial contact and didn't target the head or try and use his elbow/forearm as a weapon. But, the principal point of contact is to the head, which is why the hit is rightly being questioned. That said, Backlund releases the puck just before Lepisto hit him and it didn't look Lepisto could have avoided the point of contact.
Komarov hit on Hedman:
If comparing the two hits, the Komarov one is way more concerning. The puck is long gone and the hit was low. Hedman left the game but was able to return but could be limited by a quad/leg injury. In addition, Komarov had a questionable hit on Aaron Ekblad that may have given the standout defenseman a concussion, so history has to be a factor here as well.
Graphical Representation of Game:
Bracket Standings:
If Sweden defeats North America, they finish first in Group B and avoid meeting the first seed, likely Canada, of Group A, in the semi-finals. If Sweden loses, the Russia-Finland game would determine if there is a three-early tie for first place. As per the tiebreaker rules I posted yesterday, wins in regulation or goal differential would determine which two advance and who is the third team that ends up going home. it's pretty simple.
If Sweden wins, Russia would be in the catbird seat, as win against Finland on Thursday and they would be in. If Russia loses, then it would be a three way tie for second where goal differential likely will be the key. Right now, through two games each, North America has a plus-two goal differential by virtue of their 4-1 win over Finland and 4-3 loss to Russia while Russia is flat following a 2-1 loss to Sweden and 4-3 win over North America. Finland is 0-2 with a minus-five goal differential based in a 4-1 loss to North America and 2-0 loss to Sweden.
Join the Discussion:
»