William Nylander and Team Sweden Face a Tough Task for the Rest of the Olympics
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
It wasn't the start of dreams for Team Sweden this Olympic tournament, being drawn in the same group as Team Finland, and a dark horse in Team Slovakia, the Swedes found themselves finishing third in the group and seventh in the overall standing.
Now they have to play a qualifier, just to end meeting Team USA in the quarter finals, it could be a very short tournament for Sweden.
Sweden has to make it through the gauntlet to win Gold.
Nicholas Cotsonika of NHL.com reported on the difficult path the Swedes have carved out for themselves, now that they finished so low in their group. Nylander and company have to get passed Team Latvia tomorrow, and then once they do that, the nightmares begin.
"Seeded seventh after the preliminary round, the Swedes enter the single-elimination portion of the men's hockey tournament needing to defeat Team Latvia and Team USA on back-to-back days to reach the semifinals. Do that, and they could have to face Team Canada."-Costonika
It seems almost impossible to get through the United States and Canada, both teams have looked near unbeatable, and Sweden hasn't looked like teams of years passed. Not only that, Latvia is no easy test either, they fight hard, and had some close games this tournament, even giving the Americans a scare.
"A loss would to Latvia would be Sweden's most disappointing in the Olympics since the shocking 4-3 loss to Team Belarus in the quarterfinals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. In a way, it would be worse. The Swedes have never been eliminated from an Olympic tournament with NHL players before the quarters."-Costonika
While it might be good for Leafs fans if Nylander is eliminated early and gets some rest, with his suspected injury. It would definitely be one of the darkest days in Swedish hockey history if they fail to even reach the quarters in Milano.
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| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 16|327 ANSWERS William Nylander and Team Sweden Face a Tough Task for the Rest of the Olympics Will Team Sweden make it to the Semi-Finals of the Olympics? | ||
| Yes | 195 | 59.6 % |
| No | 132 | 40.4 % |
| List of polls | ||