There was only one team in the tournament who earned points in every single game and didn’t lose in regulation. It ultimately didn’t matter because Sweden was dead on arrival before their third and final game. Sweden comes out of the Four Nations tournament as the biggest disappointment because they both, failed to make the final, and they lost their rivalry game to Finland.
Sweden’s third and final game lacked intrigue as the United States wrapped up being in the final with their victory over Canada earlier in the week coupled with Canada winning in regulation over Finland making it impossible for Sweden to pass them because of the head to head tie breaker.
Sweden exits the tournament with no power play goals and a 66.7 PK%. When the margins are small and you lose two close games in overtime you could look to this area as why they weren’t able to get over the hump.
Erik Karlsson and Lucas Raymond tied for the team lead in scoring with Karlsson scoring a goal and and two assists and Raymond having three helpers. Karlsson had a great tournament and showed he still has some good hockey left to play. His Penguins situation hasn’t gone the way the team nor the player thought it would. A tournament like this might make a few more teams look in his direction for potential trades moving forward. He was after all the top player in the round robin
Top 20 Skaters from the 4 Nations Face-Off
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— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn.bsky.social) February 17, 2025 at 11:06 PM
For Sweden they will look towards the 2026 Olympics. They still have a lot of talent. They didn’t play poorly in the Four Nations tournament, but in short tournaments deserve doesn’t have much to do with it. You need results. They’ll be back and they will be a big reason why the 2026 Olympic tournament will be exciting to watch.
Thanks for reading!
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