Canada vs. Sweden Men's Olympic Hockey Score: Live Updates, Results
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Frank Doyle
Team Canada goes for gold today with the identity of a nation hanging in the balance.
Of course, that’s no secret and in a lot of ways, it’s unfair to this collection of some of the best hockey players in the world. It’s gold or go home to 35 million second-guessing, head-shaking hockey fans.
But this is what they signed up for. The pressure and magnitude of this game isn’t lost on any member of this team, and it’s a group of individuals who were selected specifically to win this game.
That’s why it’s no surprise that Team Canada is pegged as a -213 favorite against a very tough squad from Sweden.
Look, anything can happen in a winner-take-all situation. We all get that. But Canada’s the deepest team in this tournament by a country mile.
Now, they’ll play each minute of this game as just one more mile on their road to gold.
Sports Interaction links of note:
Sports Interaction on Twitter here.
Sochi interactive calendar in Eastern Standard time here.
Also, you can find all of Frank’s 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics live blogs here.
Pregame:
– Good morning, gamblers! Great thing about our nation is it’s before 7 a.m. EST and 50 percent of our population hasn’t slept yet while the other 50 is waking up with a beer. So Canada.
– Goal score bets you probably should bet: Jonathan Toews +302, Canadian Jack Reacher Jamie Benn +373, Erik Karlsson +271.
– Big news here: Nik Backstrom is out for Sweden. Major blow to their top line.
– Shout out to Bubba Ray’s sports bar in Halifax. May or may not have spent more hours in that pub than I care to admit publicly. That joint is a quality establishment on the East Coast and it’s absolutely jammed with hosers right now. When Sid scores that place might implode.
– Team Canada has moved up to a -250 favorite, so there goes the idea that you could wake up this morning and actually get a value bet in before the game. All odds here.
– Backstrom is out with a migraine? HA. We call that a hangover in Canada and trust me, we play through it.
– Two Swedes who scare the hell out of me: Karlsson and Lundqvist.
– Grapes speaking the truth and looking like a billion bucks: “NO DUMB-DUMB PENALTIES.”
– I’d love to know what a scalper is getting for a get-in-the-door ticket to this one. Anybody?
– Mike Babcock, Doctor of Laws, going with the McGill tie today. WE CANNOT LOSE.
Period 1
– Why is Canada so great? That was Sidney Crosby, wizard of ice hockey, dumping the puck in 30 seconds into the first period. Stay the course, young jedi. How about the hand-eye on that break too? Wild.
– Price was almost out to the bottom of the circle on that save. Confidence in piles right there.
– Sid’s looking to win this game by himself four minutes into it. He just might pull it off if Bergeron had a brain.
– HITS THE POST. Oh gad. That was inches away from 1-0 Sweden.
– We talk a lot about Canada’s defense and rightfully so, but how about Sweden’s blue line? Yeah, good enough that Victor Hedman is watching this game from Tampa Bay.
– Really, really like Toews to score today. Captain Serious has been so quiet but so good in this tournament. Plus, I just want to hear stupid Jim Hughson say “And that’s Toews, WITH THE TASER.”
– Healy: “They love puck possession.” Yup. That’s how hockey works.
– Canada’s passing way too much in the offensive zone. There was another great chance in front of the net with traffic but no shot on goal. The King is in the Sweden goal. Take any shot you can get.
– What would it take to get Erik Karlsson a Canadian passport? Asking for a nation.
– Bergeron hit the post on a quick snapper short side on Lundqvist. Shots and shots and shots and shots, you guys.
– GOAL 1-0 GOOD GUYS. Jonathan Toews! Goal! Frank Doyle, PROPHET. Weber and Carter draw helpers.
– Matt Duchene is really going to be a hell of a hockey player by the time the next Olympics roll around. The Avalanche are set up for years to come. Duchene draws a penalty and Canada heads to the power play with a chance to go up 2-0 before the intermission.
– The only real reason I haven’t talked about Alex Pietrangelo more in these Olympics is because his name is freaking impossible to spell. Quietly putting together a fantastic tournament.
– Chris Kunitz takes another stupid penalty with less than a minute remaining in the period. What’s worse than hate?
First period summary: Canada 1, Sweden 0.
– Twenty minutes in the books and everything is going as planned. Canada’s moving the puck around and controlling possession. We still need more shots, but some Grade-A scoring chances already on Lundqvist. Again, Canada’s defence is just ridiculously good. Two more periods like that and it is your Canadian duty to chug a case of Molsons and chase them with a pound of bacon.
– CHERRY WANTED TO BET A REPORTER 500 BUCKS. I CAN’T BE A PROUDER CANADIAN.
Period 2
– Strong possession from Sweden on that PP but Canada kept them to the outside and killed it off. Karlsson is completely terrifying on the point though.
– Marty St. Louis! Not to second-guess the Doctor of Laws, but Marty getting zero minutes of ice time Friday against USA was pure lunacy. He didn’t get everything on that one-timer. It would have been a red-light special if he did.
– Sweden flips the puck into the crowd and Canada heads to the power play. Corey Perry just missed on that blast from the slot. We’re getting close, team.
– The odds for Sidney Crosby to score zero goals at the Sochi Olympics would have been +9 trillion or so.
– BTW, somebody suggested I start a Republic of Doyle thing for my “fan base.” Hilarious on so many levels. Also, that’s copyright infringement, brotha.
– Lundqvist is on his game now. It’s going to be really tough to get anything past him now.
– How many of you jerks have been cashing in on the under in Canada’s games? Safest bet in sports lately.
– Comment on Carey Price after that save: “YOU. ARE. A. SPIDERMONKEY.”
– SIDNEY CROSBY. 2-0 CANADA. Is everybody OK at Bubba Ray’s in Halifax? I think I heard the crowd all the way from Montreal.
– Kunitz takes a hit from behind to earn another Canadian power play, so I guess he’s good for something after all.
Second period summary: Canada 2, Sweden 0.
The two greatest captains in hockey have Canada up a pair with 20 miles to go. You knew Crosby wasn’t going to be denied today. He’s played so well in this tournament and finally was rewarded for it when that puck squirted out in the neutral zone. When he broke in on Lundqvist, I had already started typing SIDNEY CROSBY, because any idiot in the world knew there was no way The King was keeping that puck out. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but Sweden needs a couple of bounces in a hurry or Canada is putting a padlock on this.
Period 3
– Sweden throwing caution into the wind with the defence joining the play. Everybody in the rink should be watching for Karlsson.
– Jim Hughson doing everything he can to jinx this with talk of “finishing it” even though there’s 15 minutes on the clock. Even still, Canada’s playing keep-away in Sweden’s zone. Totally dominating.
– Canada really has been all business since they played ball hockey in Calgary. Top-notch preparation and you can see it now as they put the clamps on Sweden now.
– Team Canada is so good it’s boring.
– CHRIS KUNITZ!? Canada up 3-0. Yzerman and the Canadian brass breath a huge sigh of relief as Kuntiz rips a wrister that goes bar-down over Lundqvist’s blocker. Kunitz was +289 to score today.
– … just about time to pop those corks, kids.
– It’s so hard to pick a MVP when the entire team is a bunch of hockey robots, but I’d go with Carey Price.
– Took almost six minutes for Sweden to get a shot on goal this period. Canada: really good at hockey.
– Since when has a gold medal shutout been completely anticlimactic? Since now.
Game summary: Canada 3, Sweden 0.
That’s what hockey perfection looks like. Hold your heads high, Canada. We’re still the best around.