BOSTON — Jesper Bratt scored what ended up being the game-winning goal as Sweden completed a first-period comeback and held on to defeat the United States 2-1 in the final round-robin game of the 4 Nations Face-Off on Monday night.
Gustav Nyquist also scored and Samuel Ersson made 32 saves (12 in the third period) for Sweden, which avoided a winless tournament run after losing its first two games in overtime.
Chris Kreider, who hails from nearby Boxford, Mass., scored just 35 seconds into the contest for a U.S. squad that won its first two round-robin games to clinch a spot in Thursday’s one-game final against Canada. Team USA beat its archrival 3-1 on Saturday in Montreal before the tournament shifted south.
Jake Oettinger stopped 21 shots for the Americans.
Both goaltenders made their tournament debuts.
The U.S. had a 33-23 advantage in shots. Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play.
Both lineups were impacted by injury and illness, with the U.S. missing Auston Matthews, Charlie McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk. Additionally, Brady Tkachuk crashed into the post after driving to the goal in the first period, returning for only two brief shifts in the opening frame before he was shut down.
Ersson started in place of the ill Linus Ullmark.
Kreider wasted little time impacting his tournament debut, scoring the game’s first goal by burying diving defenseman Zach Werenski’s cross-crease pass after driving hard down the left side to the net.
Sweden tied the game at 13:39 of the first when Nyquist snuck a deflection of Erik Karlsson’s shot from the right wall through Oettinger five-hole.
Bratt flipped the score in Sweden’s favor for the first time with 55.1 seconds left in the first, taking William Nylander’s pass and firing a top-shelf wrister through a screen from the left circle.
Ersson helped keep the talented U.S. squad in check following the early marker against him, making a key in-tight stop on Brock Nelson in the second period and getting help from the post several times. Jack Eichel rang the iron on a partial breakaway in the opening minute of the third.
The Swedish netminder also padded away a Nelson break-in with 6:31 left.
–Joshua Kummins, Field Level Media
