Sweden Advances to QF’s With 4-2 Win Over Denmark

A tremendous hockey game in Germany resulted in Sweden taking the 4-2 win over Denmark, thanks to production from some of their new recruits.

With all the attention on Henrik Lundqvist joining Sweden, it was his brother, captain Joel, that would take the spotlight away early. At 2:19, Marcus Kruger sent a pass out in front of the net, where Joel was standing all alone. Joel, who is expected to retire from international hockey after the tournament, easily sent a quick snipe over George Sorensen's glove arm and in, scoring his first of the tournament to make it 1-0 for Tre Kronor.

Denmark would play a strong game for most of the second, but Sweden would double up their lead. At 15:20 in the frame, John Klingberg got the puck to William Nylander along the boards. Nylander would then skate in front of the net and wait long enough to reach out around Sorensen, sneaking it over the goal line to make it 2-0 for Sweden.

Nylander is known for being a wizard with the puck and his newfound chemistry with Nicklas Backstrom, who just came over from the NHL playoffs, helped create the third goal of the game. Nylander would skate through the middle of the offensive zone with the puck, getting past multiple defenders. He would then send the puck to Backstrom in front of the net, who didn't want to hold on to it for too long. He'd then pass it back to Nylander, who would beat Sorensen on the diving save attempt to make it 3-0 for the Swedes heading into the second intermission.

A terrible give-away by Arizona Coyotes defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson resulted in Denmark scoring their first of the game. At 9:11 in the third, Nikolaj Ehlers stole the puck off of a fallen Ekman-Larsson and rushed towards the net. He found Morten Madsen rushing into the slot and sent the pass out to him, with Madsen sending a wrist shot on net to make it 3-1.

Denmark got even closer late in the game. Ehlers, who has yet to find the back of the net in this tournament, made an incredible play by circling around the offensive zone, fending off any challengers that dared to steal the puck off of him. At the last second, he dished the puck into the slot to Markus Lauridsen, who sent a fast shot past Lundqvist on a chance nobody was expecting.

Denmark was playing better, but Sweden would score an extra goal to put the game away. At 17:31 on the power play, Klingberg found Backstrom at the right faceoff circle and slapped it home on the one-timer, giving Sweden the 4-2 goal and the win in the process.

Sweden will play in the quarter-finals thanks to the win, meaning the final spot for Group A will be up to Latvia and Germany, who have nine points each. Denmark is officially eliminated from moving on and will look to finish the tournament against Italy on Monday.

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