STOCKHOLM – Rebounding nicely from a lopsided loss to Russia, Sweden eliminated Italy from quarter-finals contention and nailed down its own berth with a 4-0 victory on Saturday. Erik Karlsson and Gabriel Landeskog sparked the Swedish attack with a goal and an assist apiece.
With 15 points, the Swedes remain in second place in the Stockholm group. While an enthusiastically chanting crowd witnessed the game at the Globe Arena, the atmosphere was less charged than against Russia, as the hosts methodically dismantled the Italians.
Click here for a video with post-game comments. Marcus Krüger and Staffan Kronwall each added a goal for Sweden, and Henrik Zetterberg picked up two assists, swelling his team-leading total to nine.
"I think we need an overall better performance in the next game in the tournament," said Krüger. "Our goalie played well today, and winning was the most important thing today."
After the game, Italian forward Marco Insam approached Zetterberg in the media mixed zone and asked for a photo with the Triple Gold Club member. It was a nice moment that also reflected the gap between these two teams.
Swedish goalie Viktor Fasth, last year’s tournament MVP, earned his first shutout for 2012. The Swedes outshot the Italians 42-19.
"We had a tough game yesterday [against Russia], and all the guys wanted to go into these two days off with a win," said Fasth. "It was really good to win today." Sweden wraps up its round-robin against Latvia on Tuesday.
Tre Kronor played without forward Johan Franzén, who received a broken nose versus Russia on a cross-check that earned Dmitri Kalinin a three-game ban. The Detroit Red Wings veteran is expected to return to the lineup soon.
Just like against Germany, Krüger opened the scoring for Sweden, as he swatted the rebound from a Karlsson blast past Italian starter Daniel Bellissimo at 5:13.
The Swedes easily weathered Italy’s first power play during a hooking minor to Patric Hörnqvist, who made his 2012 tournament debut after arriving from the NHL’s Nashville Predators. The Italians countered by killing off an extended 5-on-3 Swedish man advantage.
The good times wouldn’t last long for the Azzurri, however. With 48 seconds left in the opening stanza, Staffan Kronwall skated into the slot and deftly tipped a high Landeskog shot past Bellissimo for a 2-0 lead.
At 5:45 of the second period, Karlsson gave Sweden a 3-0 lead on a two-man advantage, moving in from the center point and one-timing a drive over Bellissimo’s glove on a Zetterberg feed.
The Italian goalie did his best to keep his team alive, foiling Hörnqvist’s backhand attempt on a breakaway.
At 1:45 of the third, one second after an Italian minor penalty had expired, Landeskog scored his first-ever World Championship goal, taking a Loui Eriksson pass down low and stepping off the goal line to slam the puck past Bellissimo’s right skate. It was another big moment for the 19-year-old Swedish assistant captain, who continues to earn the confidence of his coaches.
The Swedes lost a little bit of focus at this point, taking a penalty for too many players on the ice, but Fasth guarded his shutout jealously, sliding cross-crease to foil an Alexander Egger one-timer on Italy’s best chance.
Italy substituted Thomas Tragust in goal for Bellissimo with 7:06 remaining.
Forward Derek Edwardson of Italy chose to accentuate the positive: "We worked hard defensively, and it was our best effort of the tournament so far."
The Italians have never beaten Sweden in 13 World Championship meetings dating back to 1935, registering three ties and 10 losses.
LUCAS AYKROYD
