Swedes stay perfect

Sweden beat Switzerland 4-2 for its second straight Bell Centre win on Wednesday. Captain Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice, including the third-period winner.

Eriksson Ek accepted Carl Grundstrom's lovely backhanded feed from behind the net and zipped the puck through Swiss goalie Joren van Pottelberghe with 5:08 remaining.

"I’m playing with good players," said Eriksson Ek."They set me up and I just try to shoot. Today I was lucky and two went in."

Lias Andersson and Lucas Carlsson also scored for Sweden, and Grundstrom and Alexander Nylander had two assists apiece. Jonas Siegenthaler notched a goal and an assist for Switzerland, and Calvin Thurkauf had the other goal.

Van Pottelberghe did his best to keep his team's hopes alive as Sweden outshot Switzerland 46-15. In Switzerland's opening 4-3 overtime win versus the Czechs, he faced 39 shots.

"It’s a great booster when we know we have a guy in the back that can make saves when we need them," said Thurkauf. "Joren has been astonishing over the last two games. We hope we can count on that for the rest of the tournament."

The Swedes, who sit first in Group A, face winless Nordic rival Finland on Thursday. Switzerland battles Denmark in a crucial matchup on Friday.
Last year, the Finns edged Sweden 2-1 in the semi-finals en route to gold in Helsinki. So there's a grudge match coming up.

"I think it’s going to be a good battle," said Nylander. "They’ve lost two, so they’ll be coming at us hard. But we are mad from last year, so we’ll be on top of our game too, I think."

This game was tied 2-2 heading into the third period, and Swiss fans prayed their team could emulate Denmark's 3-2 upset over Finland the night before. Alas, it was not to be.

"For sure we’re proud that we played a pretty good game," said Thurkauf. "But in the end, we lost a very important game that we should have won, or at least gotten one or two points out of it."

Sweden struck early. On a Nylander set-up, Eriksson Ek fooled van Pottelberge with his quick release from the edge of the left faceoff circle at 4:13.

Nine seconds into their first power play, Switzerland made it 1-1 at 5:08. Siegenthaler’s centre point blast, the first Swiss shot on goal, eluded goalie Felix Sandstorm.

The blue-and-yellow boys looked unfazed. Grundstrom burst down the left side and dished it to Andersson, who corraled the puck and snapped a shot high glove side for a 2-1 lead at 6:38. It was the first World Junior goal for the 18-year-old HV71 forward, who had nine points for Sweden’s silver-medal U18 team in April.

Sandstrom slid across to make a nice save on Damien Riat’s late-period one-timer. He wasn't busy overall, as Sweden outshot the Swiss 15-6 in the opening frame.

However, Switzerland valiantly persevered in the second period, tying it up at 6:17. It took just 21 seconds to cash in on the power play. Hischier fed Thurkauf down low, and the Swiss captain slammed in a wrap-around for his second of the tournament.

The Swedes kept firing away, but couldn't convert. With just over three minutes left in the middle frame, van Pottelberge made a sharp glove save on Oliver Kylington, who cut to the net with a quick backhand.

"We had a lot of shots, but the goalie was playing good," said Eriksson Ek. "We need to be in front and not allow him to see the puck."

The Swiss called their time-out to strategize before a power play early in the third period, but it proved ineffective.
After Eriksson Ek's go-ahead goal, Lucas Carlsson gave Sweden some insurance, scoring on a high shot with 2:49 left. It was deserved, as shots favored Sweden 17-4 in the third.

"We played a little bit complicated in some of the areas," said Nylander. "We need to keep it more simple and we’ll do better. But they had a good game. They played good too. It was nice to get the win."

Highly touted 16-year-old Swedish blueliner Rasmus Dahlin didn't crack the scoresheet in this game, but impressed again with his skating, positioning and playmaking. He had two points in the opening 6-1 win over Denmark, a Swedish World Junior record for a player his age.

It was Sweden’s eighth straight win over Switzerland at the World Juniors. The last Swiss victory over Sweden was on 3 January, 2003, 5-3 in relegation play.

In 2010, Sweden trounced Switzerland 11-4 in the bronze medal game, the largest margin of victory ever in a World Junior medal game.

via World Juniors.

Sweden hammers Danes

The opening game of the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship was a smashing success for Sweden, which beat Denmark 6-1 at Montreal's Bell Centre on Boxing Day.

Alexander Nylander led the way with two goals for Sweden. Carl Grundstrom, Rasmus Dahlin, and Joel Eriksson Ek chipped in a goal and an assist apiece, and Jonathan Dahlen added a single. Goalie Felix Sandstrom earned the win as shots favored Sweden 33-22.

"We’re here to win," Nylander said. "That’s our goal, to go to the final and come home with a medal – gold, hopefully. It’s good to get the first win and get our confidence up."

Sweden is seeking its first medal since settling for silver on home ice in Malmo in 2014. The Juniorkronorna have won World Junior gold twice all-time (1981, 2012).

It was an auspicious debut for Tomas Monten as Sweden's head coach. The 39-year-old served as an assistant in 2014 and 2015.

Nikolaj Krag got the only Danish goal. The Danes, who finished eighth at the last two World Juniors, continued their history of futility against Sweden in World Junior play. They lost 10-1 on 28 December, 2007; 5-1 on 27 December, 2014; and 5-0 on 30 December, 2015.

"That’s a tough team we played against today," said Danish captain Alexander True. "They’re a good team, and we weren’t sharp enough in the D zone. They took advantage of that."

Life doesn't get any easier for Denmark, which faces defending champion Finland on Tuesday.

"This year, they don’t have the [same kind of] young stars as last year," Denmark's Christian Wieritz said. "They’ve got a really good team, but there are chances. We’re taking it game by game."

Halfway through the first period, Nylander opened the scoring, stickhandling into the slot and sliding a wrister past Danish goalie Lasse Petersen. The nifty 18-year-old, the son of retired NHL star Michael Nylander and brother of Toronto Maple Leafs rookie William Nylander, led Sweden last year with nine points.

It was 2-0 at 18:24, as Eriksson Ek, the Swedish captain, converted the rebound from Rasmus Dahlin’s shot. Dahlin, a 16-year-old defenceman from Frolunda Gothenburg, is touted as a prospective #1 overall pick for the 2018 NHL Draft. His World Junior debut will add to the buzz.

"I just did my best," said Dahlin. "I had luck."

In the second period, Dahlen, another World Junior rookie, scored Sweden’s third goal, going to the net to finish off a sweet Grundstrom pass on the rush. Dahlen is the son of longtime NHLer Ulf Dahlen, who led the 1987 World Juniors in scoring and won World Championship gold in 1998.

After Danish rearguard Oliver Larsen turned the puck over at the Swedish blue line, Grundstrom got a shorthanded breakaway. Petersen had stopped him on another breakaway early in the first, but this time, the Swedish assistant captain went high glove side for a four-goal lead at 6:26.

When Denmark pressed, Sandstrom was there to shut the door. He got his right toe on a dangerous Christian Mathiasen-Wejse wraparound attempt.

"Lasse, our goalie, had a couple of great saves," said Danish coach Olaf Eller. "But Sandstrom, at the other end, had more than a couple of great saves. Then as the goals were coming, we fell out of the game. It was disappointing in the middle of the second period."

Dahlin made it 5-0 at 13:12, stickhandling deftly inside the blue line before fluttering a high shot past Petersen. Nylander put Sweden up 6-0 at 18:22. Standing in front, he coolly tipped in David Bernhardt's feed from the point.

Nothing could be said in either dressing room during the second intermission that would change the final outcome, although Krag spoiled Sandstrom's shutout bid on a short-side wrister with just over two minutes left. Sweden gets a day off before facing Switzerland on Wednesday.

Asked what Sweden can do to improve against the Swiss, Nylander said: "Maybe play a little simpler, support each other better, and get more shots on net. We played good, but I think we can still do better."

The Swedes dressed an experienced lineup, with seven returnees from the 2016 tournament. Denmark had six returnees. Danish winger Mathias From, a 2016 fifth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, missed the opener. He is still recovering from an injury suffered at practice on 15 December, but is expected to play later on.

Eller is coaching Denmark for the third straight year at the World Juniors. He is the father of former Montreal Canadiens forward Lars Eller, who now plays for the Washington Capitals.

Canada is hosting the World Juniors every second year through 2021. Montreal and Toronto also co-hosted in 2015, and Vancouver and Victoria will co-host in 2019. Hockey Canada has yet to allocate the sites for 2021.

via World Juniors.

Three players cut from Sweden's WJC 2017 team

Three players were cut from the Swedish WJC 2017 team on Sunday:
• Jacob Moverare, D (LAK)
• John Dahlström, FW (CHI)
• Jonathan Davidsson, FW

This means 16 year-old defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, draft eligible in 2018, gets the chance to play in the World Juniors.

Tatar scores in OT to lift Team Europe into final

TORONTO -- Team Europe wasn't ready for its surprising run at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 to end. 

Tomas Tatar scored 3:43 into overtime to give Team Europe a 3-2 semifinal victory against Team Sweden at Air Canada Centre on Sunday, securing a spot in the best-of-3 final against Team Canada, which begins on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, TVA Sports).

"One of the best tournaments in the world, best players from the NHL in one spot and we have a chance to play in the final, which is great," Tatar said. "The story continues." 

After Team Sweden goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made a left pad save on Tatar's initial shot the rebound caromed into the net off Tatar's left skate. It was Tatar's second goal of the game after he had no points in three preliminary-round games.

"I was hoping I'm going to get an opportunity to sway one game and I'm lucky it happened today," Tatar said.

Although few expected Team Europe, an amalgamation of players not from Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic or Russia, to get this far, Team Sweden had aspirations of reaching the final and getting a chance to avenge a loss to Canada in the gold medal game at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. 

"We all wanted to play in the finals against Canada," Team Sweden left wing Daniel Sedin said. "That was our goal and today's effort wasn't enough," "We played a patient game and they were the ones who scored." 

Team Sweden took the lead 2:31 into the second period when Nicklas Backstrom went to the net to put in an Anton Stralman rebound. Marian Gaborik pulled Team Europe even at 1-1 with 3:33 left in the second by finishing a centering feed from defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. 

Tatar backhanded home his own rebound 12 seconds into the third period to put Team Europe ahead 2-1. Erik Karlsson scored the goal that forced overtime when his right point shot appeared to deflect off Team Europe defenseman Roman Josi before floating in past goaltender Jarolsav Halak with 4:32 remaining in regulation.

Goal of the Game:

After Lundqvist failed to stop the puck when Anze Kopitar threw it behind the net, Team Europe forward Mats Zuccarello tracked it down long the left wing boards and fed Tatar, who was driving to the right post. Lundqvist made a left pad save on Tatar's initial shot, but the rebound deflected into the net off Tatar's left skate. A video review by officials in the NHL Situation Room confirmed that the goal was legal because Tatar did not make a distinct kicking motion with his foot. "It's always stressful when there's a review," Tatar said. "You never know which way it's going to go. I knew I didn't do a kicking motion, so I was hoping they were going to see it on the replay."

Save of the Game:  

Backstrom had a chance to win the game for Team Sweden on a 2-on-1 rush 3:17 into overtime, but Halak made a right pad save on his wrist shot from the right circle. Tatar scored the winning goal 26 seconds later. "I was trying to shoot low blocker, but he made a good save and unfortunately they won it after that," Backstrom said. "That's hockey."

Unsung moment of the Game:

Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Team Europe had to kill off a hooking penalty by Zuccarello 4:14 into the third period. It got two saves from Halak and blocked shots from Kopitar and Andrej Sekera to survive the two minutes. 

Highlight of the Game:

Team Europe came close to going up by two goals 9:31 into the third period when Tomas Vanek's breakaway shot went off Lundqvist's right pad and was headed for the goal line. Stralman raced back in time to clear the puck away before it went in.

They Said It:

"We are happy where we are and definitely pleased. I think nobody would guess we could be in the final. It was 33-to-1 odds against us. So it just feels good to be where we're at. I think everybody here is really happy." -- Team Europe right wing Marian Hossa

"It's important we don't get giddy. We want to give Canada and the world a really good final." --Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger

"Everything other than a gold medal is a failure in our eyes, and I think that's what everybody in our dressing room believes. We had one goal in mind and we didn't manage to accomplish that. This one definitely stings." -- Team Sweden left wing Gabriel Landeskog

"There are things you want to go back and change, but right now I'm content we're top four. But I'm obviously disappointed we're not top two." - Team Sweden coach Rikard Gronborg

Need to Know:

Halak made 37 saves and has stopped 142 of 150 shots he's faced in the tournament for a .947 save percentage. … Josi played a game-high 29:00. Karlsson led Team Sweden in playing 22:52. … Team Canada defeated Team Europe 4-1 in the preliminary round on Wednesday.

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Puck time spent in offensive zone on power play: 37% for Team Europe and 54% for Team Sweden


What's Next:

Team Sweden: Finishes the tournament with consecutive overtime losses and falls one win short of reaching the final.

Team Europe: Advances to the best-of-3 final against Team Canada, beginning on Tuesday.

via WCH2016.com.

Team North America defeats Team Sweden in overtime

TORONTO -- Team North America inched closer to the semifinals of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 with a 4-3 overtime win against Team Sweden in the last preliminary round game for each team at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday.

Team Sweden won Group B and advanced into the semifinals because of the one point it earned with the overtime loss. It will play Team Europe, which finished second in Group A after losing to Team Canada 4-1 on Wednesday.

The other semifinal berth from Group B will go to Team North America or Team Russia.

It will be Team North America if Team Finland defeats Team Russia on Thursday. A win by Team Russia would put it in the semifinals and eliminate Team North America based on the head-to-head tiebreaker (Team Russia defeated Team North America 4-3 on Monday).

"We entertained, and we'd like a chance to continue that," Team North America coach Todd McLellan said. "But it's out of our control."

Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winning goal at 4:11 of overtime. Auston Matthews, Vincent Trocheck and Johnny Gaudreau scored in the first period, and goalie John Gibson made 35 saves.

Team Sweden goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 45 saves, and Filip Forsberg, Nicklas Backstrom and Patrik Berglund scored. Berglund's goal at 6:50 of the third period tied the game 3-3.

"They won the game, but at the end of the day we won the group and that's what we're going to be happy about," Team Sweden defenseman Erik Karlsson said.

Team North America scored twice in the first 95 seconds and held a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal through the first 4:29.

Connor McDavid's rush through all five Team Sweden skaters 20 seconds into the game created the possession that led to Matthews' second goal of the tournament 10 seconds later, giving Team North America a 1-0 lead.

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Team North America forwards Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel achieved the top speed (24 mph) during the game.

Gaudreau was given a penalty shot 26 seconds later after getting hooked from behind on a breakaway by Karlsson; Gaudreau shot high and wide.

Trocheck scored at 1:35 to give Team North America a 2-0 lead.

Team Sweden made it 2-1 on Forsberg's shot from the right circle that hit off of Gibson as it went into the net at 8:24. Gaudreau responded with a breakaway goal at 13:57, and Backstrom answered for Team Sweden at 16:28 to make it 3-2.

"Obviously they caught us on our heels there pretty quick, and I think it was good for us to go down right away," Karlsson said. "We had to realize we had to play a better game in order to give ourselves a chance to win. We put ourselves in that position. We evolved our game more than they did throughout the 60 minutes and that's why we won the group."

Goal of the Game:

MacKinnon's game-winner was like a play you'd see at the end of a practice. He was alone in front of Lundqvist when he got the puck and made a series of quick stickhandling moves. Lundqvist swung out his stick to try to swipe the puck away from him but missed. MacKinnon dragged the puck to his backhand, Lundqvist's stick came out of his hands, and MacKinnon roofed it into the net.

Save of the Game:

Fifteen seconds before MacKinnon scored, Gibson came up with a game-saving stop on Daniel Sedin, who was sprung for what was essentially a red-line-in breakaway. Gibson stopped Sedin's attempt with his pad.

Unsung Moment of the Game:

Team North America kept the game tied 3-3 with McDavid in the penalty box for holding Anton Stralman at 15:34 of the third period. Team Sweden had three shots on goal during the power play, but Gibson stopped them all.

Highlight of the Game:

McDavid got the puck in the defensive zone on the first shift of the game and knifed up the middle of the ice. He blew past Team Sweden's three forwards and slipped between defensemen Stralman and Victor Hedman to generate a scoring chance that led to another five seconds later and a rebound goal for Matthews.

They Said It:

"Dave Tippett has coached probably more games than probably the rest of our staff put together, and we have coaches that have been around for a while, but we became fans. I was standing on the bench, 'No, no, no,' and then 'Go, go, go.' It was just going back and forth, the energy in the building and the passion with the fans, the players. I've seen a lot of excited players, but that bench was very excited. It was a lot of fun." -- Team North America coach Todd McLellan

"Wake the [bleep] up. Those first two minutes there, that was probably the most embarrassing part that I've ever been a part of on a team. They did it all. They had three breakaways, a penalty shot, a penalty called with them against us, two goals in the net. It gave us kind of a slap in the face, and I think that even though we didn't say those words to each other, it kind of made us say them to ourselves, look ourselves in the mirror realizing we need to wake up." -- Team Sweden defenseman Erik Karlsson

Need to Know:

Team North America goalie Matt Murray was scratched because of a sore right thumb. He started the previous two games. ... Lundqvist made 81 saves in two games on back-to-back days after missing the first game of the tournament because he was ill.

What's Next:

Team North America: Will advance to the semifinals if Team Finland defeats Team Russia on Thursday, and would play Team Canada, which won Group A.

Team Sweden: Will play Team Europe in the semifinals on Saturday or Sunday.

via WCH2016.com.

Team Sweden edges Team Russia in opener

TORONTO -- Team Sweden survived a late comeback attempt from Team Russia and came out on the positive side of a controversial video review for a 2-1 win in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 preliminary round opener for both teams at Air Canada Centre on Sunday. 

Team Russia forward Alex Ovechkin thought he had the game-tying goal with 8.2 seconds remaining in the third period, but the officials ruled it no goal because he batted the puck into the net with his hand. Video review confirmed the call on the ice. 

"I thought I touched it," Ovechkin said. "To be honest with you I didn't see the replay, but I [felt] the touch. I don't know if it was the puck or the stick. I definitely [felt] the touch on my hand on my stick. It doesn't matter right now. It's over, so we have to forget about it and move forward."

Ovechkin scored on a wrist shot through traffic with 33 seconds remaining in the third period to slice the deficit to 2-1.

Team Sweden goalie Jacob Markstrom started in place of Henrik Lundqvist, who was a late scratch because of an illness. Markstrom made 27 saves and got goals from forward Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Victor Hedman, who scored 2:11 apart in the second period.

The win ended Team Sweden's 12-year drought against Team Russia in major international tournaments and gave it the early lead in the Group B standings.

Team Sweden hadn't defeated Team Russia in an Olympics, IIHF World Championship or World Cup of Hockey game since the 2004 World Championship. It had lost 12 consecutive games in major international tournaments, including 11 in the World Championships.

PLAYER & PUCK TRACKING INSIGHTS from SAP
Team Russia had the players with the three hardest shots in the game: defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Andrei Markov (95 mph) and forward Alex Ovechkin (94 mph).

Landeskog got on the board first for Team Sweden with a power-play goal off a one-timer from the top of the right circle at 10:41, four seconds into the man-advantage. Right wing Patric Hornqvist was in front of the net, screening Team Russia goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (27 saves).

Hedman scored what turned into the game-winning goal on a one-timer from between the hash marks off of a feed from left wing Carl Hagelin to give Team Sweden a 2-0 lead at 12:52.

Markstrom turned aside eight of nine shots in the third period with Team Russia pressing for the comeback. His best and most important save came with his left pad on Evgeni Malkin's deflection of Ovechkin's shot with more than seven minutes remaining.

Goal of the game:

Precision on the power play led to Team Sweden taking a 1-0 lead. Center Nicklas Backstrom won the faceoff in the left circle back to defenseman Erik Karlsson, who quickly moved it across to Landeskog for a one-timer from the right circle that rang into the net off of the inside of the left post. Hornqvist was in front screening Bobrovsky.

Save of the game:

At the time it looked like a nice save in what was going to be a shutout win, but Markstrom's stop on Malkin's deflection of Ovechkin's shot with 7:23 remaining in the third proved to be a valuable save. Had he not made the save with his left pad, the outcome could have been significantly different for Team Sweden.

Unsung moment of the game:

Patience at the point closest to Team Sweden's bench from center Henrik Sedin created the opportunity for Hedman to score the game-winning goal. As the puck approached him, Sedin waited to touch it, allowing Team Sweden the chance to complete a line change. Had he touched the puck too soon, it would have been a too many men on the ice penalty. He waited until it was legal and passed it down to Hagelin on the wall. Hedman, who came on the ice in the line change, came streaking down the middle and Hagelin found him, setting up the one-timer from between the hash marks that beat Bobrovsky on the glove side.

Highlight of the game:

Ovechkin thought he had the game-tying goal with 8.2 seconds left in the third period. He didn't. It was called a no goal on the ice because the officials ruled that Ovechkin batted the puck into the net with his hand, a violation of Rule 67.6, which states, "A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who bats or directs the puck with his hand into the net." Video review confirmed the call on the ice.

They said it:

"Look at [Team Russia's] lineup, four even lines and all can skate and move the puck, so for us it's all about being physical and being close to them, eliminate them from the puck as much as we could. That was the game plan going in. Skate with them and try and create turnovers. … It feels good to be off to a good start." -- Hedman

"The practices and the little game time that [Markstrom] has gotten I think he's shown everybody that he's ready to step in if something happens. We have a lot of confidence in him. The way he holds himself, even though he wasn't supposed to be the starter, is good so when the news came it didn't really shock anyone. … Marky was ready to go and I think he showed that from the puck drop until the whistle at the end. I think he was our best player out there." -- Karlsson

Need to know:

Ovechkin played nine shifts totaling 6:36 in the third period after playing six shifts totaling 4:47 in the second period. He finished the game with 16:25 of ice time, fourth among Team Russia forwards behind Evgeni Malkin (19:42), Nikolay Kulemin (17:51) and Pavel Datsyuk (17:19). ... Hedman led all players in ice time with 22:54. ... Backstrom won seven of his 21 faceoffs. ... Team Russia had a 33-30 edge in faceoffs.

What's Next?

Team Sweden: Plays Team Finland in the second preliminary round game for each team on Tuesday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVA Sports).

Team Russia: Plays Team North America in the second preliminary round game for each team on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports).

via WCH2016.com.

Henrik Lundqvist healthy scratch for Team Sweden

GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- Team Sweden goalie Henrik Lundqvist will start the World Cup of Hockey 2016 pretournament schedule as a healthy scratch.

Lundqvist will not dress for Team Sweden's pretournament game against Team Finland at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on Thursday (Noon ET; ESPN3, SN, TVA Sports). Jacob Markstrom will start and Jhonas Enroth will be the backup, coach Rikard Gronborg said Wednesday.

Gronborg would not say if Lundqvist would play in the pretournament game against Team Finland here at Scandinavium on Saturday (Noon ET; ESPN3, SN, TVA Sports).

Although Lundqvist was dealing with sore ribs at the start of the week, a result of getting hit by a puck during a practice last week, Gronborg's decision to scratch him doesn't appear to be injury related. He has had a net in practice to himself for the past three days and has gotten a lot of work. Markstrom and Enroth have shared the other net.

"Obviously [Lundqvist] is a big cornerstone of the team, so it's more of a situation right now that he gets a lot of repetition in practice here," Gronborg said. "We really challenged him in practice, and obviously he responded to that. We do have a plan. Right now I don't feel it's necessary for me to tell [the media] what the plan is, but we do have a plan. Obviously he's a big cornerstone of our team."

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm and forward Mikael Backlund also will be healthy scratches for Team Sweden on Thursday.

Backlund added to Swedish World Cup roster

Team Sweden has announced Mikael Backlund has been added to their roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

The Calgary Flames forward will replace Henrik Zetterberg, who is unable to participate due to injury.

#TreKronors förbundskapten har tagit ut Mikael Backlund, till #WCoH. Henrik Zetterberg, är skadad och kan inte delta i turneringen.

— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) September 1, 2016

Backlund, 27, has played for his country on multiple occasions. He captured a bronze medal at the 2007 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, a silver medal at the 2008 and 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship, a silver medal at the 2011 IIHF World Championship and a pair of bronze medals at the 2010 and 2014 IIHF World Championship tournaments.

Most recently, he suited up for Sweden at the 2016 IIHF World Championship, scoring three goals and four points in eight games. He also acted as one of the team's assistant captain's at the tournament.


At the NHL level, the forward set new career highs in all offensive categories in the 2015-16 season with 21 goals, 26 assists and 47 points through 82 games. He finished fourth in team scoring, trailing just Johnny Gaudreau (78 points), Sean Monahan (63 points) and Mark Giordano (56 points).

"We feel that with Mikael Backlund, we will get an internationally experienced player that is very versatile and responsible. His second half of the season with the Flames was very strong, where he showed that he is a premier all-round player in the NHL," Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg said in a release issued by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.

Sweden's World Cup training camp runs Sept. 5-14 at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden and the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Washington, DC.

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey will be played Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. All games will be televised by Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada and ESPN in the United States.

TEAM SWEDEN ROSTER

Forwards:

Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames; Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals; Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins; Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators; Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins; Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins; Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks; Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche; Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks; Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks; Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks; Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks; Carl Soderberg, Colorado Avalanche

Defencemen:

Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators; Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes; Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning; Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chicago Blackhawks; Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators; Hampus Lindholm, Anaheim Ducks; Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Goalies:

Jhonas Enroth, Toronto Maple Leafs; Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers; Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks

SWEDISH EXHIBITION AND PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE

** Sept. 8: Sweden vs. Finland at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, 10:00 AM MT

** Sept. 9: Sweden vs. Finland at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, 10:00 AM MT

** Sept. 14: Sweden vs. Europe at the Verizon Center in Washington, 5:00 PM MT

Sept. 18: Sweden vs. Russia, 1:00 PM MT

Sept. 20: Sweden vs. Finland, 1:00 PM MT

Sept. 21: Sweden vs. North America, 1:00 PM MT

** Exhibition games

Teams North America, Europe, Sweden, Czech Republic release 2016 World Cup of Hockey Rosters

The North American,  Czech Republic, European, and Swedish teams for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey revealed their rosters on Wednesday.

Here are the rosters:

Czech Republic Roster

Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings, G

Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers, G

Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets, G

Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers, D

Michal Kempny, Avangard Omsk (KHL), D

Roman Polak, San Jose Sharks, D

Andrej Sustr, Tampa Bay Lightning, D

Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames, F

Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes, F

Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks, F

David Krejci, Boston Bruins, F

Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning, F

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, F

Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens, F

Vladimir Sobotka, Avangard Omsk (KHL), F

Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers, F

North American Roster

John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks, G

Connor Hellebuyck, Manitoba (AHL), G

Matthew Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins, G

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D

Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets, D

Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets, D

Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D

Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers, F

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres, F

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames, F

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, F

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, F

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, F

J.T. Miller, New York Rangers, F

Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames, F

Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets, F

Sweden Roster

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, G
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks, G
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes, D
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chicago Blackhawks, D
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators, D
Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings, D
Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals, F
Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins, F
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, F
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche, F
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, F
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, F
Alexander Steen, St. Louis Blues, F
Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings, F

European Roster:

Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark), G
Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia), G
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia), D
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland), D
Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany), D
Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia), D
Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland), D
Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark), F
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany), F
Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark), F
Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia), F
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia), F
Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark), F
Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia), F
Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria), F
Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway), F

USA beats Swede for 2016 WJC Bronze Medal

"The Neutral Zone" Game Report

USA 8, SWEDEN 3 (BRONZE MEDAL GAME)

Forwards Anders Bjork, Ryan Donato and Matthew Tkachuk each scored two goals to help lead the United States to an 8-3 victory against Sweden in the bronze-medal game of the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland, on Tuesday.

Bjork and Donato are selections of the Boston Bruins in the 2014 NHL Draft, and Tkachuk is an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's November players to watch list for the 2016 draft.

USA won its ninth medal in the history of the tournament, and fifth bronze. The Americans also defeated Sweden 4-2 in 2011 and 2-1 in 2007 to win the bronze medal.

Recaps of today's World Junior Championship games

FINLAND 6, CANADA 5
Defending champion Canada lost to Finland 6-5 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on Saturday.

Right wing Patrik Laine, a 2016 NHL Draft eligible prospect, scored twice for Finland, including the game-winner on the power play with 5:50 remaining.

Antti Kalapudas, Aleksi Saarela (New York Rangers), Julius Nattinen (Anaheim Ducks) and Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) had goals for Finland, which plays Sweden in one semifinal on Monday.

Finland's Jesse Puljujarvi, also a top prospect for the 2016 draft, had three assists and leads the tournament with 15 points.

USA 7, CZECH REPUBLIC 0

Auston Matthews, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, had a hat trick to lead the United States into the semifinals against Russia on Monday.

Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes) made 28 saves to earn his first shutout of the tournament.

Matthews scored his first two goals 4:53 apart in the second period and completed his hat trick 24 seconds into the third period. He leads all scorers with seven goals.

Nick Schmaltz (Chicago Blackhawks), Christian Dvorak (Arizona Coyotes), Scott Eansor and Alex DeBrincat also scored for the United States, which has outscored its opponents 25-5 in winning four of its five games.

RUSSIA 4, DENMARK 3 (OT):

Vladislav Kamenev scored his second goal of the game at 5:00 of overtime to move unbeaten Russia into the semifinals.

Kamenev (Nashville Predators) had forced the overtime by scoring with 44 seconds remaining in the third period.

Yegor Korshkov and Artur Lauta each had a goal and an assist for Russia, which outshot Denmark 46-21.

Russia lost 5-4 to Canada in last year's final and is trying to win the gold medal for the first time since 2011.

SWEDEN 6, SLOVAKIA 0:

Linus Soderstrom (New York Islanders) made 17 saves for his second shutout of the tournament, moving unbeaten Sweden into the semifinals.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings), Jens Looke (Coyotes), Axel Holmstrom (Detroit Red Wings), Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (Boston Bruins), Alexander Nylander and Christoffer Ehn (Red Wings) scored for Sweden, which put the game away with three third-period goals.

"Feels good to be through to the semifinals," Holmstrom told the IIHF website. "I thought we played a really solid game."

Slovakia goalie Adam Huska stopped 49 shots.

SWITZERLAND 5, BELARUS 1:

Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks) and Denis Malgin (Florida Panthers) had a goal and two assists each for Switzerland in the first relegation-round game.

Noah Rod (Sharks), Damien Riat and Julien Privet also scored for Switzerland, which outshot Belarus 41-21.

Recaps of today's WJC games

United States 10, Switzerland 1: Auston Matthews, the likely top pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, had two goals and two assists to lead the United States to a 10-1 victory against Switzerland in a Group A preliminary-round game at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland.

Fellow top draft prospect Matthew Tkachuk and Christian Dvorak (Arizona Coyotes), Zachary Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Colin White (Ottawa Senators) had three-point games. The win moved the U.S. into second place in Group A with six points, three behind first-place Sweden.

Nick Schmaltz (Chicago Blackhawks), Ryan Donato (Boston Bruins) and Brandon Carlo (Boston Bruins) also scored for the U.S.

Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks) scored for Switzerland, which finished fifth in Group A with one point. Switzerland will play Belarus in the relegation round.
The U.S. finishes preliminary-round play Thursday against Denmark (9 a.m. ET; NHLN).

Finland 8, Slovakia 3: Tournament scoring leader Jesse Puljujarvi, an A-rated skater by NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list for the 2016 draft, had a four-point game to lead Finland in a Group B game at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.

Puljujarvi, who has 10 points in three games, had one goal and three assists.

Finland took a 3-2 lead into the third period before breaking out with five goals to put the game away.

The host country is third in Group B with six points. Finland plays Czech Republic on Thursday to finish the preliminary round.

Sweden 5, Denmark 0: Oskar Lindblom (Philadelphia Flyers) had one goal and one assist and goaltender Felix Sandstrom (Philadelphia Flyers) made nine saves for the shutout for Sweden in a Group A game.

Sweden won its third straight game and clinched first place in Group A with nine points.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings) opened the scoring 13 seconds into the game at Helsinki Ice Hall. Gustav Forsling (Chicago Blackhawks) gave Sweden a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal midway through the first period.

William Lagesson (Edmonton Oilers) and top 2016 NHL Draft prospect Alexander Nylander also scored for Sweden.

Sweden finishes preliminary-round play Thursday against Canada (3:30 p.m. ET; NHLN); Denmark finishes group play Thursday against the U.S. (9 a.m. ET; NHLN).

Czech Republic 5, Belarus 3: Simon Stransky, a top prospect for the 2016 draft, was one of five scorers in the victory for the Czech Republic in Group B play.

Vladislav Goncharov's power-play goal gave Belarus a 3-2 lead after two periods. But 2:06 into the third period Jiri Smejkal scored to tie the game, and 2:14 later a goal by Radek Vesely put the Czech Republic ahead for good. Defenseman Dominik Masin (Tampa Bay Lightning) closed the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minute of the third.

Defenseman Stepan Falkovski, a C-rated player to watch for the 2016 draft, and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for Belarus.

The Czechs, with two wins and an overtime loss, are second in Group B with seven points. They play Finland to finish group play. Belarus will play Switzerland in the best-of-3 relegation round.

Recap of today's WJC games

SWEDEN 1, UNITED STATES 0

HELSINKI -- New York Islanders goaltending prospect Linus Soderstrom made 46 saves and Alexander Nylander scored as Sweden shut out the United States 1-0 on Monday in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Nylander, a top prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft, scored on a second-period breakaway. He has one goal and four assists in the tournament to lead Sweden, which is 2-0 in Group A

The United States, which fell to 1-1 after beating Canada in its opener, couldn't score despite having eight power-play chances in the game. They had 20 power-play shots and 14:48 of total power-play time.

It was the first time the U.S. lost to Sweden in the WJC since 1996, ending a 12-game winning streak.

The U.S. will face Switzerland on Wednesday and Denmark on Thursday.

RUSSIA 6, FINLAND 4:

Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild) had a goal and an assist and Yegor Korshkov chipped in with three assists for Russia.

Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) gave the host side the lead when he beat Russian goalie Alexander Georgiev early in the first period at Hartwall Arena. Kaprizov tied it on the power play but Patrik Laine restored Finland's one-goal cushion with 67 seconds left in the opening frame.

Aleksi Saarela (New York Rangers) scored 53 seconds into the second period to make it 3-1 before the Russians scored four times on Finnish netminder Veini Vehvilainen in a span of seven minutes 17 seconds.

Andrei Svetlakov started the rally with a shorthanded goal and Pavel Kraskovski tied the game on the power play. Vladislav Kamenev (Nashville Predators) scored another goal with the man advantage and Alexander Polunin capped the outburst with an even-strength goal.

Saarela halved the Russian lead early in the third period but Radel Fazleyev tacked on an insurance goal for the Russians, who lead Group B with five points. Finland, which opened the tournament with a victory, has three points.

CZECH REPUBLIC 2, SLOVAKIA 0

Dominik Lakatos and David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) scored and Vitek Vanecek (Washington Capitals) made 18 saves for the shutout.

Pastrnak opened the scoring with a power-play goal late in the second period at Hartwall Arena. Lakatos added an insurance goal midway through the third period.

Slovakia has split its first two games while the Czechs have one win and an overtime loss.

Sunday's World Juniors Scores: Denmark 2, Switzerland 1 | Slovakia 4, Belarus 2

Russia, Sweden among World Juniors winners for Dec. 26

RUSSIA 2, CZECH REPUBLIC 1 (SO)

HELSINKI - Maxim Lazarev scored the only goal in the shootout as Russia edged the Czech Republic 2-1 on Saturday at the world junior hockey championship.

Artur Lauta evened the game at 1-1 with a third-period goal for the Russians (1-0-0).

Michael Spacek scored on a penalty shot to open the scoring for the Czech Republic (0-0-1).

Alexander Georgiev turned aside 24 shots for the win as Vitek Vanecek made 20 saves in defeat.

Czech defenceman Jakub Zboril was ejected at 10:17 of the first period for boarding.

SWEDEN 8, SWITZERLAND 3

HELSINKI - Toronto Maple Leafs prospect William Nylander was injured and did not return for Sweden in its 8-3 victory over Switzerland at the world junior hockey championship on Saturday.

Nylander received an open-ice hit from Switzerlad forward Chris Egli in the first period. Egli received a game misconduct for checking to the head and neck area on the play.

Fellow Maple Leafs prospect Dmytro Timashov led Sweden with two goals and an assist.

Tino Kessler struck twice for Swtizerland (0-1-0) with Noah Rod adding the other.

Linus Soderstrom picked up the win as a goalie, making 15 saves.