William Nylander responded with a bounce-back game, but it wasn’t enough to get Team Sweden over the finish line, losing 4-3 in overtime to Team Finland on Saturday.
Nylander recorded an assist in 21:34 of ice-time, the most playing time among any forward in Saturday’s game. He was zipping around the ice and constantly creating plays for his teammates throughout the game, after going scoreless in Sweden’s 4-3 loss to Canada on Wednesday. Sweden head coach Sam Hallam stated this week that Nylander has an extra step, and he displayed it throughout the game, but it was all for naught in the end.
Nylander put pressure on Finland’s Esa Lindell and capitalized on a turnover, deftly tipping the puck back to Mika Zibanejad, who opened the scoring in the first period. The 28-year-old wasn’t credited with an assist on Zibanejad’s goal, as it was adjudged that the puck was swatted off his stick before Zibanejad scored. He’s adept at turning defence into instant offence, and it’s something he’ll need to do constantly against the United States on Monday, if Sweden is to make an uphill push into the final.
Nylander was at his best off the rush, and found Erik Karlsson on a terrific pass to give Sweden a 3-2 lead in the third period. The dynamic Maple Leafs winger floated a pass to a speeding Karlsson off the wing, and he made no mistake about it.
Finland tied the game late in the third period off an Aleksander Barkov goal, before Mikael Granlund emerged as the overtime hero, beating Linus Ullmark off the rush.
Sweden can still make a push into the final, but it will need some help from its North American friends. USA can punch its ticket to the final with a regulation victory over Canada. Sweden could emerge with five points if it upsets the USA on Tuesday night, while Canada squares off against Finland, and there are still a number of final combinations at play. Canada cannot directly advance to the final Saturday as a result of Finland’s victory, but it will be an uphill battle for Nylander and his compatriots.
It’s a tough result for Nylander, who was booed relentlessly by the Montreal crowd, as he was arguably Sweden’s best player. He’ll need to elevate his game to yet another gear against the United States, as the tournament has quickly escalated.
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