MILAN \u2014 As the puck crossed the goal line, Dalibor Dvorsk\u00fd jumped into the glass just before his Slovakia teammates mobbed him. The Slovak fans in the stands at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, who had muffled their Swedish counterparts all game, stood and roared. The building was jumping.<\/p>\n
Dvorsk\u00fd, a 20-year-old rookie with the St. Louis Blues, called it one of the biggest goals he\u2019s ever scored, coming with 39 seconds left in Slovakia\u2019s final preliminary round-robin game Saturday.<\/p>\n
The goal made the score 5-3. For Sweden.<\/p>\n
Because Slovakia had beaten Finland 4-1 earlier in the tournament, however, that goal gave Slovakia the goal differential tiebreak between them, Sweden and Finland atop Group B of the men\u2019s hockey tournament. That was not guaranteed at the time Dvorsk\u00fd scored that goal, but when Finland beat Italy 11-0 in regulation time later Saturday, it allowed Slovakia to claim first place in the group and an automatic bye to the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Because Slovakia had beaten Finland 4-1 earlier in the tournament, however, that goal gave Slovakia the goal differential tiebreak between them, Sweden and Finland if Group B of the men\u2019s hockey tournament finished in a three-way tie for first. That was not guaranteed at the time Dvorsk\u00fd scored that goal, but if Finland beats Italy in regulation time later Saturday, it would allow Slovakia to claim first place in the group and an automatic bye to the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
In that moment, it was the biggest loss in Slovak hockey history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the best loss of my life, probably,\u201d Dvorsk\u00fd said.<\/p>\n
The goal came after Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond had given Sweden a 5-2 lead with a spectacular between-the-legs move with a little over eight minutes remaining in regulation, but was called for slashing with 2:38 left in regulation, giving Slovakia a power play.<\/p>\n
Slovak coach Vladim\u00edr Orsz\u00e1gh called a timeout, knowing a two-goal loss would be enough, to let his top offensive players gather their thoughts and catch their breath. There was no play drawn up and there was no talk of what to do tactically.<\/p>\n
It was just to calm down, relax.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was not much talking about it,\u201d Slovakia star Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd said.<\/p>\n
At one point in the power play, Slafkovsk\u00fd had tried a pass from the side boards that zipped through the crease, a pass that Dvorsk\u00fd was unable to handle as the puck rimmed out of the zone. On the ensuing zone entry, a clearly frustrated Slafkovsk\u00fd tried to break down the Swedish penalty kill all by himself, and the puck went right back down to the Slovak end.<\/p>\n
But when it counted, Slafkovsk\u00fd got the puck to the net through a maze of bodies, and once it had stopped bouncing, it landed right in front of Dvorsk\u00fd at the side of the net, allowing him to put it in and set off the party in the rink.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know where the puck was and all of a sudden I see him celebrating,\u201d Slafkovsk\u00fd said. \u201cThen I just started jumping, which is crazy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were still down two goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slafkovsk\u00fd\u2019s assist on Dvorsk\u00fd followed up his third goal of the tournament in the first period, giving the Montreal Canadiens forward six points in three games, tied with Canada\u2019s Connor McDavid for the tournament scoring lead, though McDavid has played one fewer game.<\/p>\n
Slafkovsk\u00fd rolled his eyes when told he was sitting atop the tournament leaderboard with the best player in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019m lucky to be there,\u201d he said, \u201cand he deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That might be true, but Slafkovsk\u00fd is Slovakia\u2019s offensive engine, and the biggest reason why Dvorsk\u00fd\u2019s goal mattered.<\/p>\n