The United States suffered its first defeat at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, losing 2-1 to Sweden in the round-robin finale. Chris Kreider opened the scoring for Team USA just 35 seconds into the match, but Gustav Nyquist and Jesper Bratt’s goals in the first period gave Sweden a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Samuel Ersson impressed as Sweden’s goaltender, making 32 saves on 33 shots. Brady Tkachuk suffered an injury during the game after colliding with Ersson and the post, but was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Team USA coach Mike Sullivan said that Tkachuk had a lower-body injury, but didn’t anticipate it being a major issue for Thursday’s championship game against Canada. Charlie McAvoy was also held out due to an upper-body injury, but both Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk are expected to play on Thursday.
Sweden’s win ensured they wouldn’t leave the tournament without a victory, and they’ll face Team USA again in the championship game. The team’s goalie Jake Oettinger said he was nervous before the game, but proud to get his first appearance in the tournament.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/sweden-vs-united-states-live-updates-4-nations-score-result/o6DwoiGIL9fx