Before USA-Sweden became the third of four quarterfinals Wednesday to go to OT, the atmosphere at Santagiulia Arena was a bit subdued for an elimination game. Maybe it had to do with all the Canadian fans who stuck around for the late quarterfinal, relaxing in the afterglow of their thrilling win over Czechia<\/a> hours before. <\/p>\n Maybe it was the playing style, which was more methodical and detailed than explosive and exhilarating. Rather than rink-length rushes, offense largely came off of a blocked pass or shot, by stripping a puck, by grinding and gutting out a shift. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s 40 of some of the best players in the world fighting at both ends of the ice,\u201d Matthew Tkachuk said. \u201cNot a lot of room on both sides, not a lot of heavy chances on either side. <\/p>\n \u201cYou put two really good teams together, and you think that it\u2019s going to be this high flying offensive, but it\u2019s actually quite the opposite. And it took one guy to make a play at the end, and that was Quinn.\u201d <\/p>\n The Swedes were committed in front of Markstrom (38 saves), and found the goal they needed just in time. Mika Zibanejad finally beat Connor Hellebuyck on their 29th shot, with 91 seconds remaining in regulation. <\/p>\n Sweden had Markstrom pulled for seven seconds before Lucas Raymond\u2019s cross-ice feed through traffic set up Zibanejad, who blasted it shortside. <\/p>\n \u201cI was trying to figure out how it went in because I thought I made a really good push and feel like I should have had the save,\u201d Hellebuyck said. \u201cI was able to throw it away because, you know, there\u2019s more hockey to be played.\u201d<\/p>\n McAvoy had a monster game. <\/p>\n He fired up his teammates early by knocking down Joel Eriksson Ek, Gabriel Landeskog, Adrian Kempe, and Raymond. He patrolled the back half of the ice with authority. He finished with 19:22 of ice time.<\/a><\/p>\n He was a split-second late getting to Zibanejad\u2019s shot with a sliding block, after the Swedes found a passing lane. <\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t ask Helly to make that save. We\u2019ve got to get in a lane there,\u201d McAvoy said. \u201cSo it was nerve-racking, for sure, when we get into overtime, but you saw our best players, their skill take over.\u201d<\/p>\n The Swedes were a seventh seed with the roster talent of a top-four team, and were gutted afterward. <\/p>\n \u201cJust empty,\u201d Zibanejad, his voice barely above a whisper, said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough.\u201d <\/p>\n Sweden was without surefire future Hall of Fame defenseman Victor Hedman<\/a> (lower body), who \u201ctweaked something late\u201d in warm-up, coach Sam Hallam said. It was 10 minutes before puck drop, Hallam said, so he could not substitute healthy scratch Rasmus Andersson.<\/p>\n Hedman, 35, was snubbed from the 2014 Sochi roster, and has said this will be his only Winter Games. <\/p>\n He dressed and sat on the bench.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, talk about a heartbreaker,\u201d Swedish captain Gabriel Landeskog said. \u201cTo have to sit out, that\u2019s \u2026 that\u2019s \u2026 I was hurting for him. I really was. And I still am.\u201d <\/p>\n Hedman\u2019s minutes went largely to Bruins blue liner Hampus Lindholm, added two weeks before the Games as a replacement for the injured Jonas Brodin<\/a>. Lindholm took a tripping penalty but was otherwise quiet in his 15:48. <\/p>\n Bruins teammate Elias Lindholm (9:36), meanwhile, was on the ice for Larkin\u2019s second-period redirect, which came after 31:03 of goalies looking unbeatable.<\/p>\n The second-seeded Americans will face a test in Slovakia, which opened eyes by earning the third seed while lacking an NHL-laden roster. The Slovaks beat Germany, 6-2, in the only rout of the day. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be an extremely hard test,\u201d Quinn Hughes said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been rolling. They\u2019re competitive. They\u2019re fast. <\/p>\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter how many superstars you have, just the desperation level\u2019s so high. It\u2019s Game 7 every night now.\u201d<\/p>\n If Team USA women\u2019s hockey doesn\u2019t come out with the gold at the Winter Olympics is the tournament considered a bust?<\/p>\n![\"Bruins](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5TOEL4BFVVG2JJIDM3KR56WS2I.jpg\")
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy set the tone early for Team USA against Sweden with some crunching hits, including one on Gabriel Landeskog.ALEXANDER NEMENOV\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n