Sweden looks to ‘finish strong’ at 4 Nations Face-Off after OT losses

BOSTON -- Despite two 4-3 overtime losses at the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal, Sweden believes it played well enough and deserves a better fate in its third game of the best-of-best tournament, which moves to TD Garden against the United States on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

However, Sweden, which lost to Canada on Feb. 12 and Finland on Saturday, doesn’t control its own fate; it can only clinch a spot in the final Thursday if the Canada-Finland game earlier Monday is decided in overtime or a shootout, and Sweden then defeats the U.S. in regulation.

“We're disappointed with our how we played yesterday, obviously disappointed with the results,” Sweden forward Adrian Kempe said Sunday. “Two OT losses could have gone the other way, obviously, so that's tough.

“I think the mindset right now is just to reset, move forward, finish strong here, and then, you know, with a little bit of luck we can be in the final game. The mindset is just finishing strong here. You know, it's a short tournament; there's World Championship coming up, there's Olympics next year, where a majority of the guys on team are going to be together again. So, as long as we finish strong here, I think that's going to be important.”

Sweden coach Sam Hallam said his team’s approach won’t change given its situation.

“We’re doing everything we can today and tomorrow to prepare to play the game [that] gives us an opportunity to play the last game,” he said. “We don’t have anything to do with the result of the early game (Monday), so we’re preparing to do the best we can and give us a chance to play the (championship) game.

“It’s also about pride. If it’s a game that doesn’t mean anything, we’re still playing the United States in Boston and we know what they want to do in front of their home crowd, so we need to be ready for everything.”

Sweden did not practice here Sunday but held a team meeting in the morning at TD Garden. The message was simple: No matter the outcome of the Canada-Finland game, the players have no intention of going away quietly.

“Regardless of what we’re playing for, if we’re playing for a spot in the championship game or if we’re playing for the pride of our country and the crowns on our chest, that’s our mindset right now,” forward Rickard Rakell said. “There’s still a chance we could be playing to win this thing, but obviously (after losing Saturday) it’s not up to us anymore.

“[But the tournament has] been unbelievable. “It’s been so much fun with the crowds, the rivalries, and the hockey has been fast-paced games. I don’t think I have ever been part of this kind of pace in a hockey game before and it’s definitely been a blast.”

There is a buzz here after the U.S.-Canada game Saturday saw three fights in the opening nine seconds. Even after things settled, it was still an all-out physical game. The U.S. has already clinched a spot in the final after its 3-1 win, but Sweden knows to still expect an intense, physical battle Monday.

“It’s a mindset,” Rakell said. “If everybody goes in with that kind of mindset and just do everything you can to win every puck battle out there, [that’s] a good start.”

But the U.S. has proved it can win with talent too; it won its first game of the tournament Feb. 13, 6-1 against Finland.

“They can play with both intensity, and we saw (against Canada) they can play a pretty good shutdown game too,” Hallam said. “Our first game against Canada a few days ago, we showed we can handle high intensity and we’re pretty confident in our group.

“We want to be a bit more accountable, a bit more predictable for ourselves, and just play a smarter game.”

Sweden goalie Filip Gustavsson left the game after the first period Saturday because of an illness, and Linus Ullmark made 15 saves in relief. Hallam said Gustavsson is feeling better and his starting goalie Monday will be a game-time decision.

“All four teams here are so good anything can happen in any game, so we haven’t lost our hope yet,” Rakell said. “We’re still looking forward to playing (Monday’s) game and we’ll put our best game on the ice.”