After losing in the first round of the NHL playoffs, Ottawa Senators centre Shane Pinto is carving out a nice silver lining for himself at the World Hockey Championships. The 24-year-old centre had a goal and two assists to lead Team USA to a 6-2 victory over Sweden on Saturday. That guarantees he’ll be coming home with at least a silver medal.
The Americans dominated early, building up a 4-0 lead. Sweden got to within two goals in the third period before the U.S. slammed the door shut, including Pinto’s empty-netter to ice it.
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Pinto was not only one of the best players on the ice in the semifinal, he also has 10 points in seven games in the tournament. He admits they let their foot off the gas a little on Saturday.
"We were playing a little too timid,” Pinto told IIHF.com. “We were up 4-0, so we were kind of just trying to let the time pass. But that's not how you have to play to win. [After the timeout], we got our legs going and I thought we played much better.”
Pinto and the Americans have already clinched the silver medal, which is the best they’ve done in the tournament since winning gold at the 1960 Olympics. That was back when the Winter Games doubled as the World Championship. By 1968, the two events returned to being stand-alone events. This will be their first appearance in a final at a stand-alone Worlds. Prior to 1992, the event was a round-robin with no playoffs.
For Sweden, they’ll be the heavy favourite against Denmark in Sunday’s bronze medal game. A few eyebrows were raised when they opted not to bring Sens goalie Linus Ullmark, who says he wanted to play. The Swedes locked in two spots for Samuel Ersson and Arvid Söderblom, but held one spot for a goalie who might be eliminated in the first round of the NHL playoffs. They chose Jakob Markström, and Markström admits he wasn’t at his best in Saturday’s semifinal.
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After failing to reach the final at February's inaugural Four Nations Face-Off, Team Sweden head coach Sam Hallam will get another chance at international glory at this month's World Hockey Championship.
“It’s disappointing that I couldn’t play at a level that was needed. There were a couple of loose pucks I could’ve held on to, I have to be better in an important game like this, that would've given us a better chance to win,” Markström said.
The Americans will face Switzerland in Sunday’s final at Avicii Arena in Sweden. After Denmark shocked Canada – eliminating them in the quarterfinal in one of the biggest upsets in hockey history – the Swiss destroyed the Danes in the semifinals, 7-0.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa