COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden capped a victorious run through the world men’s hockey championship by edging Switzerland 3-2 on Sunday in the final after a penalty shootout to successfully defend its title.
Forward Filip Forsberg scored the decisive goal in the shootout to give Sweden a third world title in six years, and 11th overall. Earlier Sunday, the U.S. topped Canada 4-1 to claim its third bronze medal in six years (but no standalone world title since 1933), with captain Patrick Kane becoming the first American to take MVP honors in tournament history.
Sweden won all 10 matches at the tournament.
“We wanted to win the gold medal, and here we are,” Sweden forward Viktor Arvidsson said. “It’s unbelievable, especially for Filip. He’s a great player, one of our top players. It’s unbelievable to win with my teammates.”
Arvidsson, together with Nashville Predators teammates Forsberg and defenseman Mattias Ekholm, joined the Swedish team during the tournament after the Predators were eliminated from the NHL playoffs.
“We had the puck a lot,” Arvidsson said. “They did a great job defending.”
Sweden outshot Switzerland 38-27 as the Swiss finished runners-up for the third time after 2013 and 1935. Switzerland has never won.
“We battled hard … all the tournament long,” Switzerland defenseman Mirco Muller said. “Once you look at the bigger picture, it’s huge for Swiss hockey. But right now, there’s a disappointment. We definitely had our chances.”
Switzerland stunned Canada 3-2 in the semifinals after a 3-2 upset against Finland in the quarterfinals.
“They were close to winning the whole championship. So, credit to them,” Sweden forward Magnus Paajarvi said.
Gustav Nyquist wristed a shot from the slot high past Leonardo Genoni for Sweden to answer the Swiss opening goal by Nino Niederreiter.
Timo Meier scored a second period power-play goal past Vancouver Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson to restore the one-goal advantage for Switzerland in the second.
Mika Zibanejad equalized on a power play from the point, forcing a scoreless 20-minute overtime. The Arizona Coyotes’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Forsberg scored for Sweden in the first four rounds of the shootout, while the Swiss missed on four straight tries after the Colorado Avalanche’s Sven Andrighetto beat Nilsson in the first round.
In the bronze-medal game, Chris Kreider led the U.S. with two goals.
Forward Nick Bonino scored the winner on a rebound during a power play in the final period. Anders Lee and Kreider added empty-net insurance goals for the U.S., whose roster was made up entirely of NHL players save one.
“It’s important for the team, but it’s also important for USA Hockey,” Kane said. “Now, we can build up off this level and try to keep being better and better.”
Kane had an assist in the game to finish the tournament with 20 points — eight goals and 12 assists — the first player to do so since 2008. The two-time Olympian broke U.S. records for most assists and most points at a single worlds.
“Obviously I’m here to produce and try to create offense and make plays out there,” Kane said. “Overall, I’m happy … it was a fun tournament and a great experience for me and I hope it will help me with my career going forward too.”
Canada failed to earn a medal for the first time since 2014.
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