A tantalizing quarterfinal matchup sees a pair of powerhouses and longtime rivals do battle. Sweden won three games in the preliminary round including one in OT, garnering them third place in their pool. Finland had two wins with an OTL to finish second behind the US.
Both teams have struggled to find the net, with the majority of Sweden’s goals coming in one game vs lowly Austria. Sweden did allow the second fewest goals against, surrendering just 7 in the opening round, behind only Czechia in that department. Both teams ended their Prelim journey in rough fashion with Finland taking it on the chin in a 6-2 loss to the US, while Sweden was exposed in a 5-1 beating at the hands of Canada.
The goaltending edge goes to Sweden as Carl Lindbom has been lights out through his games so far, posting a .942 save % with a pair of shutouts. Finland has rotated its goaltenders but received some clarity at the position when Aku Koskenvuo was lit up by the US and frankly looked terrible. Jani Lampinen will be their guy going forward and he currently has some impressive numbers, albeit not coming against powerhouse offenses. Nevertheless, a GAA of 1.00 and Save % of .964 will give him and the team in front of him some confidence.
Both teams have struggled to find the net, with the majority of Sweden’s goals coming in one game vs lowly Austria. Sweden did allow the second fewest goals against, surrendering just 7 in the opening round, behind only Czechia in that department. Both teams ended their Prelim journey in rough fashion with Finland taking it on the chin in a 6-2 loss to the US, while Sweden was exposed in a 5-1 beating at the hands of Canada.
The goaltending edge goes to Sweden as Carl Lindbom has been lights out through his games so far, posting a .942 save % with a pair of shutouts. Finland has rotated its goaltenders but received some clarity at the position when Aku Koskenvuo was lit up by the US and frankly looked terrible. Jani Lampinen will be their guy going forward and he currently has some impressive numbers, albeit not coming against powerhouse offenses. Nevertheless, a GAA of 1.00 and Save % of .964 will give him and the team in front of him some confidence.
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