After falling behind 2-1 in the first period of Saturday’s game to Finland, Team Sweden wasn’t leaving anything to chance coming out of the first intermission at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Linus Ullmark took over in net for Filip Gustavsson, who allowed two goals on four shots through the first 20 minutes.
The first goal came on a 2-on-1 as Anton Lundell powered a shot through Gustavsson’s five-hole. And the second came on a Finland power play when Mikko Rantanen buried a cross-ice feed from Patrik Laine.
Gustavsson, a goalie with the Minnesota Wild, started between the pipes for Sweden in the team’s overtime loss to Canada on Wednesday. In that game, he made 24 saves on 28 shots.
The 26-year-old has had a solid season in Minnesota, posting a 2.63 goals-against average and .915 save percentage through 97 games, but Ullmark has been equally as effective in his first year with the Ottawa Senators.
He has a 2.49 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in 25 games, so it seemed likely that Sweden would have a short leash for goaltenders should they run into trouble at this tournament.
The move seemingly paid off for Sweden in the second, as defenceman Rasmus Dahlin potted the game-tying goal just over five minutes into the period. Erik Karlsson would then give Sweden the lead minutes later.
You can catch the rest of the action on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ as the two European countries try to get into the 4 Nations win column.
