Slovakia’s Dramatic Power-Play Goal
In a dramatic turn of events, Slovakia’s Dalibor Dvorsky scored a crucial power-play goal with just 39 seconds remaining, a moment that might propel his team into the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics. This took place despite Slovakia’s 5-3 defeat against Sweden in their final preliminary round match on Saturday.
With Slovakia finishing the group stage tied with Sweden and Finland, their advancement hinges on Finland’s performance against host nation Italy later that day. Notably, Finland is viewed as a strong favorite to win that game, which could determine the final standings of Group B due to goal differentials.
Player Reactions
Juraj Slafkovsky, Slovakia’s standout player and the reigning Olympic MVP, expressed a positive outlook on the loss, labeling it “the best loss I ever had.” He is currently tied with Canada’s Connor McDavid, leading the tournament with six points. Dvorsky, who plays for the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, echoed this sentiment, calling it the best loss of his life. Reflecting on his decisive play, he remarked,
“We all know what we need to do on the ice. There was not too much tactics, right? Just try to get pucks to the net. At the end, it was a rebound that was the goal.”
Sweden’s Performance
Meanwhile, Sweden managed to play a much-improved game compared to their previous 4-1 loss to Finland. Despite the victory over Slovakia, alternate captain Victor Hedman described the situation as a “tough pill to swallow.” In a strategic move, Coach Sam Hallam replaced goaltender Jacob Markstrom in the closing seconds of the match to push for another goal due to tiebreaker implications. However, they did not capitalize on that opportunity, leaving them vulnerable to playing in the qualification round on Tuesday, assuming Italy does not upset Finland.
Latvia’s Stunning Victory
In another matchup, Latvia stunned Germany with a 4-3 victory, fueled by goals from Eduards Tralmaks and Renars Krastenbergs, which came within a span of just three minutes. Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs made 26 saves to secure the win. Zemgus Girgensons of the Buffalo Sabres, among the ten NHL players on Latvia’s roster, expressed confidence in their team’s capabilities, stating,
“We believed it. We came in today thinking we’re going to win. And that’s what we did. This is probably the best team we’ve had on paper. We’re just going to keep improving with each game.”
Germany’s Disappointment
Germany, led by goaltender Philipp Grubauer, faced disappointment after allowing four goals on just 22 shots. Tim Stützle, one of the scorers for Germany, stressed the need to improve their offensive effort:
“We just got to find a way to score. We need to go into hard areas, know where the other guy is, and make those plays.”
Germany is set to face the U.S. on Sunday night in a critical match for their tournament hopes.
Contributions to this report were made by AP Sports Writers John Wawrow and James Ellingworth.
Further details and developments awaited in the ongoing AP Winter Olympics coverage.
