Canada loses gold in shootout
Sweden crowned champion after winning tiebreaker
COLOGNE, Germany (CP) — Canada felt the sting of its loss to Sweden at the world championship a little more than usual thanks to the tournament format.
Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman Larsson scored in a shootout as Sweden beat Canada 2-1 on Sunday to capture gold, spoiling the Canadians’ attempt to win the title for a third straight year.
“We don’t feel like we lost a hockey game tonight, we feel like we lost a shootout,” said Canadian coach Jon Cooper. “I told our guys ‘hang your head high.’ We knew the rules going in, it was part of the format, and they bested us.
“I thought both goalies were exceptional but, in the end, it came down to a skill competition. They were better than us and, in the end, they deserved to be world champs.”
Backstrom, Sweden’s second shooter in the shootout, beat Canadian goaltender Calvin Pickard low to the stick side, and Ekman-Larsson caught Pickard moving on Sweden’s next attempt to go up 2-0.
Sweden’s Henrik Lundqvist stopped all four Canadian shooters — Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, Ryan O’Reilly and Mitch Marner — to secure the gold.
“It’s tough,” said MacKinnon. “We couldn’t score and it’s a shootout. It’s a weird way to finish, but if we won, we wouldn’t be talking about it — we’d just be excited. Obviously, we’re very disappointed.” Victor Hedman scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period to give the Swedes a 1-0 lead. Lundqvist was stellar with 42 saves.
O’Reilly tied the game at 1-1 with a power-play goal for Canada early in the third. Pickard stopped 40 shots. The win is Sweden’s first in four tries against Canada since the IIHF instituted the playoff system in 1992 and its first gold medal since 2013.
Lundqvist joined his twin brother and team captain Joel on Sweden midway through the tournament after his New York Rangers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was Henrik’s first appearance at the world championship since 2008.
Earlier on Sunday, Russia beat Finland 5-3 to capture its second consecutive bronze medal.