Sweden vs. Finland World Championship Quarterfinals Prediction

One of the most intense rivalries in international competition, the Scandinavian adversaries Sweden and Finland are poised to compete in a do-or-die elimination game in the quarterfinals of the IIHF Men’s World Championship.

Sweden was the best team in the preliminary round. They won all seven of their matches in regulation to finish atop of Group B. And they outscored their opposition 35-9. The Tre Kronor blue and yellow is loaded with NHL players led by a defense core of Erik Karlsson, who leads the team in points with 10, Victor Hedman, and Rasmus Dahlin. Those three on the same team just isn’t fair.

Andre Burakovsky, Marcus Johansson, Lucas Raymond, and Joel Eriksson Ek were amongst their most productive forwards in the prelims, and one of those players shined in our simulation.

Conversely, Finland’s squad has very few NHL players, but they have been led by a soon-to-be NHLer in Montreal Canadiens prospect, Oliver Kapanen. Kapanen leads his team with six goals and is perking up the ears of Habs fans.

One of their NHL players got himself into some trouble on the ice and has been suspended one game following a vicious cross-check to the face of Swiss defender Andrea Glauser in Finland’s final game of the preliminary round.

In the simulation, Sweden started hot and peppered Finland netminder Harri Sateri in the opening frame. Isac Lundestrom was able to power a one-timer past the goaltender and give Sweden a 1-0 lead.

Finland responded in the second period with two goals of their own by Iiro Pakarinen and Patrik Puistola, who scored with five seconds left in the period. Despite a major disparity in team overalls, Finland held a 2-1 lead heading into the third and had a chance to provide an upset in the simulation.

Alas, Sweden’s Marcus Johansson put the team on his back and scored a natural hat trick to hand their Scandinavian rivals a 4-2 loss in our simulation.

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