Erik Karlsson had a much better game for Team Sweden on Saturday against Slovakia.
Sweden bounced back from Friday's 4-1 loss on Friday, beating Slovakia 5-3 on Saturday.
Sweden was about to win 5-2 and make things really interesting in its group before allowing a late goal in the third period to make it 5-3. After Finland beat Italy 11-0 in the ensuing game, Slovakia finished first in the group and got an automatic bye to the quarterfinals.
There's a very real chance Sweden finishes as the seventh seed, which would likely mean a quarterfinal game against the United States (assuming the U.S. gets the second seed), since Canada has a better goal differential right now.
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson bounced back in a big way on Saturday, finishing with two assists. He didn't play well against Finland on Friday, but he moved the puck with much more authority and made better decisions on Saturday.
He got secondary assists on Elias Pettersson's goal that made it a 4-2 game in the third period and Lucas Raymond's goal that extended the lead to 5-2. He led all defensemen in points during this contest and has three points in three games.
As for Penguins forward Rickard Rakell, he didn't register a point, but I still felt he was fine. I think he could be a bit better, but he's still been a solid fit on a line with Pettersson and Zibanejad.
We'll see who Sweden plays in its quarterfinal qualifier game once preliminary play is done on Sunday.
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