CGD: Canada Faces Biggest Test Yet in Game Against Sweden

Here’s all that you need to know ahead of Canada’s semi-final tilt against Sweden tonight. 

Puck drop is slated for 7:30 ET/ 4:30 PT. You can watch the game on all TSN platforms. 

Ingram remains Canada’s man: If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Well, Canada’s goaltending as a whole may be slightly broken, but not enough to fix. Ingram, the goaltender that lead Canada past the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, gets the nod again for tonight’s contest. Ingram has suited up for three games and has put up a .866 save%, ranking among the tournament’s worst.

Time for the Big Players to have big games: Tonight marks Canada’s biggest test yet. With that in mind, Canada needs to come out guns blazing and be firing on all cylinders. The last time Canada was tested in this tournament was against the Americans on New Year’s Eve. Canada lost that match up and the reason could be traced to the Red and White not being tested enough early on in the tournament. 

That phase is over and Canada can’t undermine the attack that Sweden is going to bring. With Philipe Myers still on the shelf, Canada will need to pick up the slack as a unit, and not deflect the minutes and responsibilities to one player. Canada’s defensive game will need to be at it’s best, especially against the tournament’s leading scorer, Alex Nylander. Expect the tone to be set by Dylan Strome, Canada’s captain and best player in the tournament so far. Look for Strome to rise to the challenge and continue leading Canada in superb fashion. 

What Coach Ducharme is referring to is the fact that while Sweden has put up an impressive 40-0 record in the preliminary round over the last 10 years, they only have one gold medal to show for it.

The all-around attack: Sweden is going to be a tough opponent for Canada, there’s no denying that. They’ve outscored their opponents 26-9 so far in the tournament with the help of Alex Nylander, whose 11 points leads the entire tournament. On the back end, Oliver Klyington has been a valuable component to Sweden’s blue line, alongside talented prospects, Jacob Larsson (Anaheim Ducks), Gabriel Carlsson (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Rasmus Dahlin (a 16-year-old top prospect for the 2018 draft). 

Between the pipes Sweden has been led by Felix Sandstrom, whose .916 save% and 1.75 GAA has helped Sweden reach the semi-finals. 

Canada will be in for quite the game against the all-around talented Sweden squad.