SAGINAW, Mich. -- Sweden was the heavy favorite in their quarterfinal matchup with Finland to open the playoffs of the World Championship in Czechia on Thursday.
Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson and Sweden went 7-0 in the preliminary games, winning all seven games in regulation. They blew out opponents by a total margin of 35-9 -- the second-most goals scored by any team after the United States, and the fewest goals allowed of any team -- three fewer than the next-best team.
The Finns, with Jesse Puljujarvi and Valtteri Puustinen among its forward group, just snuck into the postseason. They were the lowest-seeded team in the playoffs after going 3-3-1 in the preliminary round, outscoring opponents 21-14. Finland would also be without its captain and top-line forward Mikael Granlund for the postseason opener, as Granlund served a one-game suspension for cross-checking in the final preliminary game.
Sweden won, 2-1, and advanced to the semifinal round, eliminating Finland. But the Finns put up a heck of a fight.
The game remained scoreless until 15:02 into the third period when the Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin opened the scoring for the Swedes. The Finns pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker late, and Puustinen set up Hannes Bjorninen for the tying goal off a redirect to force overtime with under a minute remaining:
🚨IT'S NOT OVER YET! Hannes Bjorninen ties the game with 57.8 seconds left in the 3rd! It is OT time!😱#SWEFIN#MensWorlds @leijonat pic.twitter.com/kzZ1lCQrVL
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 23, 2024
Finland took a penalty 4:59 into the extra frame, and the Wild's Joel Eriksson Ek scored on the ensuing power play off a redirect.
"That was the first PK goal we gave up but it stings," Olli Maatta said. "I have to say they’re a good team. They’re a great team. They’re definitely contenders. At the same time, we’re pretty proud of the fight we gave today and it stings a lot to lose like that. But that’s hockey sometimes."
A pair of ex Penguins prospects got the starts in net in the game -- Filip Gustavsson stopped 19 of 20 shots for Sweden, and Emil Larmi stopped 33 of 35 for Finland.
In addition to his assist, Puustinen had two shots on goal and was a plus-1 in 14:22. Puljujarvi was scoreless had two shots on goal and was a plus-1 in 14 minutes even. Pettersson was scoreless with two shots on goal and an even plus/minus in 18:33. Karlsson was scoreless with three shots on goal and an even plus/minus in 26:36.
IIHF IMAGES
Jesse Puljujarvi following Finland's elimination from the World Championship on Thursday.
MORE FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
• Canada eliminated Slovakia, 6-3. Michael Bunting was scoreless with an even plus/minus in 14:52. His four shots on goal tied for the team lead.
• Alex Nedeljkovic dressed as backup to Charlie Lindgren as the U.S. was eliminated by Czechia with a 1-0 loss.
• In the game involving no Penguins players, Switzerland eliminated Germany with a 3-1 win.
• The two semifinal games will take place on Saturday. Sweden will play Czechia at 8:20 a.m. Eastern, and Canada will play Switzerland at 10:20. The winner of either game will play for gold on Sunday, the losers will play for bronze earlier in the day on Sunday.
