They assembled a strong roster to try to win gold on home ice, and the path to victory seemed to grow a little wider when Canada got knocked out in the quarterfinals [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/disappointed-sidney-crosby-we-couldn-t-get-it-done-here-tonight], but following a disappointing 6-2 loss to the USA in the semifinals [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/clayton-keller-jackson-lacombe-cutter-gauthier-react-to-usa-semifinal-win-over-sweden], the best the Swedes can now do is bronze. Asked what was wrong, Mika Zibanejad answered, “Quite a lot.” The veteran New York Ranger [http://thn.com/nyrangers] elaborated to HockeyNews.se, [https://hockeynews.se/nyheter/stjarnorna-nanstans-faller-det-pa-mig] “I think we were too spread out, didn’t play with enough urgency, and weren’t quick enough moving the puck. I think they did a better job of pressuring us and not giving us the time that we might have had in the other games.” “I think we played a little too much on the outside,” William Nylander agreed [https://hockeynews.se/nyheter/nylander-om-hogerkroken-besvikelsen]. “We were maybe better in the third but it’s a little too late when it’s 4-0.” Nylander took the game’s first penalty just 27 seconds in. And although the Americans didn’t score on the power play, they had sustained pressure in what became a dominant first period. “Yes, I hit him in the face,” the Toronto Maple Leafs [http://thn.com/toronto] winger admitted. “He tried to pull my helmet off, so I sort of hit him back and got called. A little unnecessary.” Confirmed: William Nylander Will Join Swedish Team [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9cd91d4b-6853-4ddd-9816-32d460a356f1.webp] Confirmed: William Nylander Will Join Swedish Team William Nylander has accepted an invitation to play for Sweden at the IIHF World Championship and is already on his way to Stockholm, <a href="https://hockeynews.se/nyheter/avslojar-william-nylander-klar-for-vm-spel">Swedish website HockeyNews.se reported</a>. on Wednesday morning. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/confirmed-william-nylander-will-join-swedish-team] Jacob Markström was critical of himself [https://hockeynews.se/nyheter/stjarnan-byttes-ut-maste-vara-battre]. The New Jersey Devils [http://thn.com/newjersey] goalie was beaten four times on 20 shots through 40 minutes. With Sweden trailing 4-0, Markström was lifted in favor of Samuel Ersson to start the third period. “I have to be better,” said Markström. “It’s too bad in this atmosphere, this setting, being at home and not making the final. If I’d been better, we’d have had a better chance of winning.” Asked about the momentum change resulting from the two quick goals early in the third period to make it 4-2, Zibanejad said, “We woke up a bit, both the team and the fans inside the arena and so on. Obviously, we didn’t stop believing that we could do it. But then the 5-2 goal made it tough.” “I’m sad, frustrated … all sorts of thoughts are going through my head and I’m mostly disappointed and pissed off,” said Calgary Flames [http://thn.com/calgary] defenseman Rasmus Andersson. “To some extent, it falls on me as captain in the room that we have that bad of a start. So it falls on my shoulders.” Asked what he could have done differently, Andersson answered, “Try to push the boys even harder, maybe show the way more on the ice. It’s easy to stand here and say it in retrospect, but if the team isn’t ready, it falls on me as captain. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we squandered.” Photo © David Kirouac-Imagn Images Clayton Keller, Jackson LaCombe, Cutter Gauthier React To USA Semifinal Win Over Sweden [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/bf4c0e8d-bbc1-40c2-af7b-48cb3a38c732.webp] Clayton Keller, Jackson LaCombe, Cutter Gauthier React To USA Semifinal Win Over Sweden <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/can-this-roster-break-usas-world-championship-semifinal-curse">The semifinal curse is dead.</a> For the first time since the IIHF adopted a playoff format for the World Championship in 1992, the USA is in the final, following a 6-2 win over Sweden in Stockholm. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/clayton-keller-jackson-lacombe-cutter-gauthier-react-to-usa-semifinal-win-over-sweden]
