That chaotic Group B concluded round robin play on Saturday, and a loss by Slovakia ultimately turned out to be a huge victory for them.
Sweden defeats Slovakia 5-3
While Sweden ultimately got the win, Slovakia scoring a late goal with under a minute left had massive ramifications for Group B. Sweden needed to win by at least three goals to have a chance to win the group, but Dalibor Dvorsky’s goal with just 39 seconds left to cut the Sweden lead to two turned out to be enormous for Slovakia. It was so important that Sweden, even with a two-goal lead, pulled its goaltender with less than 30 seconds left to make it a three-goal lead again. They failed to do so, meaning Slovakia ends up as the winner of Group B.
Sweden will now move to the qualification round, making its path to a gold even trickier.
Gabriel Landeskog did not score but finished with four shots on goal in over 17 minutes of play.
Latvia defeats Germany 4-3
Finland defeats Italy 11-0
The Finns have rebounded nicely after an opening day loss and did not hold back against Italy because they needed a strong goal differential to book their ticket to the quarterfinals. With the win and the large goal differential, Finland will skip past the qualification stage, something that seemed unlikely just a few days ago.
Joel Kiviranta, who took zero shifts during Finland’s first two games, scored twice in the win. Artturi Lehkonen also chipped in, picking up a goal and two assists.
United States defeats Denmark 6-3
Don’t expect Jeremy Swayman to see the net for the United States again this tournament.
Starting his first (and likely only) game of the tournament, Swayman struggled, giving up a shot from center ice late in the first period. It took until halfway through the second period for the favorites to find their footing, and they scored five of the final six goals in the game on their way to a second victory.
Brock Nelson picked up an assist in nearly 14 minutes of ice time.
Sunday’s men’s hockey schedule
Switzerland vs. Czechia: 4:10 a.m. (Peacock)
A win and Czechia guarantees their spot in the quarterfinals. Martin Necas has been their best player through two games, looking more dangerous than anyone else on their roster. Switzerland is now in a tough spot after it was announced that forward Kevin Fiala, one of their top forwards, will miss the rest of the tournament (and NHL season) after being stretchered off the ice on Friday.
Canada vs. France: 8:40 a.m. (Peacock)
Barring a major upset, Canada will win Group A with ease. It will be interesting to see if Canada chooses to rest any of its forwards on Saturday for the quarterfinals, as it should be able to take down France even with some key players out of the lineup.
Denmark vs. Latvia: 11:10 a.m. (CNBC, Peacock)
United States vs. Germany: 1:10 p.m. (USA Network, Peacock)