Filip Gustavsson had no business stopping Devon Toews in Wednesday’s third period. The Team Sweden goalie was sliding from right to left to get in front of Connor McDavid, of all players. All of his focus, to say nothing of his momentum, was trained on getting in front of McDavid.
But instead of shooting, McDavid one-touched a slot-line pass to Toews for an unmarked one-timer. Gustavsson had to change direction in an instant. The Team Sweden goalie slammed on the brakes, lunged to his right and threw out his blocker. Somehow, Gustavsson punched out Toews’ point-blank shot.
Without that save, Sweden might have lost in regulation in the tournament opener. The point it ended up claiming in overtime was all because of Gustavsson.
After Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Canada, Sam Hallam pulled Gustavsson aside. The Sweden coach was sure to inform his goalie that he gave his team a chance to win the game.
“He was huge,” Hallam said. “He was calm. It’s easy when things go your way. When you start giving up a goal less than a minute into the game, then you have 2-0 with really poor support in front of him, he was just keeping his calm. He pretty much stands for how the whole team handled the situation.”
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GO FURTHER
Filip Gustavsson steals Sweden a 4 Nations Face-Off point it had no business getting
