Sweden halted Team Canada’s bid for a third straight World Championship title thanks to a 2-1 shootout victory on Sunday.
Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson both scored on Calvin Pickard in the shootout, while Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 42 of 43 shots he faced during regulation and overtime, and then turned aside all four Canadian attempts in the shootout.
Time to celebrate for Sweden.
Is that William Nylander with the hit of the tournament?
William Nylander body slams Henrik Lundqvist. There's no room for violence like this in hockey. pic.twitter.com/MPOC1rAoch
— Ryan Gilbert (@RGilbertSOP) May 21, 2017
In seriousness, that’s a great moment for the 35-year-old Lundqvist, who passionately stated his reasons for joining Team Sweden after the New York Rangers were ousted from the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round.
“My brother [Joel] is the captain there and I haven’t played with him for 12 years,” said Lundqvist earlier this month. “Also the fact that we’re not part of the Olympics. I see this as an opportunity to play for my country one more time and with my brother. I’m going to go there and try and finish really strong this season and I’m going to reflect.”
Nylander, only 21 years of age, added to his impressive first full NHL season by being named the tournament’s most valuable player.