Sweden Up to Old Tricks

This one was for the old guys, the group that ripped away the “chicken Swede” label their predecessors had borne and proved that Swedes could win battles in the corners of an NHL rink and any corner of the world.

It was for Mats Sundin, 35, the first European player chosen first overall in the NHL draft, in 1989. For Peter Forsberg, 32, who has given his spleen and his knee cartilage in service of his hockey career. For Nicklas Lidstrom, 35, a defenseman of quiet brilliance and big-game performances.

“We finally won something big with this team,” Forsberg said. “This was kind of our last chance. It’s hard to describe how I’m feeling now.”

It was fitting, therefore, that the three standard bearers of their generation collaborated on the goal that lifted Sweden to a 3-2 victory over archrival Finland on Sunday at the Palasport Olimpico in the gold-medal hockey game of the Turin Olympics.

Sundin set the play in motion by winning a neutral-zone faceoff from Finland’s Saku Koivu, whose stick broke on the play. Forsberg pounced on the puck and carried it up the left side before passing it back to Sundin, whose no-look back pass slid directly to Lidstrom’s stick.

The elegant defenseman leaned into a shot just inside the blue line and placed it in the few inches between goalie Antero Niittymaki’s right shoulder and the crossbar 10 seconds into the third period, a goal the scrappy Finns could not match after having advanced to the final by winning their first seven games.

“This one is tough,” said Finland and Mighty Duck winger Teemu Selanne, who was voted the tournament’s top forward by officials of the International Ice Hockey Federation. “We were so close and we played so good [a] tournament. Of course, a silver medal is going to taste better a little later, but right now it’s very disappointing.”

The Finns, who have never won the Olympic hockey championship, did create some frantic moments for the Swedes. Especially in the last minute, after the Finns pulled Niittymaki and would have tied it but for a stick save by goalie Henrik Lundqvist on a surprisingly unchecked Olli Jokinen by the left post.

“It was nuts,” Swedish winger Tomas Holmstrom said of that final minute. “My heart was racing 300 [beats] and I was standing on the bench. I have no idea how the puck didn’t go in.”

Lundqvist was there when it counted for Sweden, which was merely 3-2 in group play after losses to Russia and Slovakia. The Swedes routed Switzerland in their quarterfinal game and did the same in the semifinals to a Czech team that never recovered from losing goaltender Dominik Hasek to a groin pull.

“We weren’t that good in all the games in the pool, but we play good when it counts,” said center Sammy Pahlsson of Sweden and the Ducks. “We played really good in the quarterfinal and in the semifinal too.”

Finland, by contrast, had shut out four of its five opponents in a 5-0 start and added a shutout of Russia in the semifinals after defeating the U.S., 4-3.

“The only disappointing thing is, we couldn’t play the best game in the tournament like we were planning,” said Selanne, a four-time Olympian who won a bronze medal at Nagano in 1998. “We tried our best, and it wasn’t enough.”

Because it wasn’t, Lidstrom, Sundin and Forsberg shared a triumphant final moment.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to finish on top and win it in your last Olympic tournament,” said Lidstrom, a three-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman and three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings.

“To be able to win the gold medal is unbelievable. I don’t think you’ll see us in the next one. I thought it was perfect that they assisted on my goal.”

Forsberg and brothers Jorgen and Kenny Jonsson were the only holdovers from Sweden’s first gold-medal team, the one that beat Canada in a shootout in 1994 on a goal by Forsberg and a save by Tommy Salo. Forsberg hadn’t yet made his debut in the NHL, where he’d win a scoring title, a most valuable player award and two Stanley Cup titles with the Colorado Avalanche.

“I was much more nervous this time because I knew it might be the last time for this team,” Forsberg said. “The last time I was 20 years old and didn’t understand the hard work it would take to get back. I definitely appreciate it more.”

Pahlsson, a first-time Olympian, said he loved his medal although it was a bit heavier than he’d anticipated.

“But that’s no problem,” he said, puffing out his chest as if to prove he could bear the burden.

Selanne said he hadn’t talked to Pahlsson about Sunday’s game, but the topic was sure to surface soon. The Ducks resume their NHL schedule at home Wednesday against Detroit.

“We go back together and one guy’s smiling all the way and some guy is not,” said Selanne, who has never gotten past the second round of the NHL playoffs in 12 seasons. “That’s how life goes sometimes. But like I said, it’s going to taste better in a little while.”

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GOLD MEDAL GAME SUMMARY

SWEDEN 3, FINLAND 2

Finland...1 1 0--2

Sweden...0 2 1--3

FIRST PERIOD--1, Finland, Kimmo Timonen (Teemu Selanne), 14:45 (pp). Penalties--Niclas Havelid, Sweden (hooking), 2:43; Antti Laaksonen, Finland (cross-checking), 8:28; Jorgen Jonsson, Sweden (hooking), 14:15; Fredrik Modin, Sweden (hooking), 15:53.

SECOIND PERIOD--2, Sweden, Henrik Zetterberg (Mikael Samuelsson, Christian Backman), 4:42 (pp). 3, Sweden, Niklas Kronwall (Henrik Zetterberg), 13:24 (pp). 4, Finland, Ville Peltonen (Jussi Jokinen, Olli Jokinen), 15:00. Penalties--Toni Lydman, Finland (hooking), 3:52; Olli Jokinen, Finland (tripping), 4:57; Petteri Nummelin, Finland (holding), 8:20; Saku Koivu, Finland (hooking), 13:00; Niclas Havelid, Sweden (hooking), 15:53; Tomas Holmstrom, Sweden (interference), 18:27; Jussi Jokinen, Finland (interference), 18:47.

THIRD PERIOD--5, Sweden, Nicklas Lidstrom (Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg), 0:10. Penalties--Daniel Alfredsson, Sweden (tripping), 1:33; Niklas Kronwall, Sweden (interference), 11:50; Toni Lydman, Finland (high sticking), 15:34.

SHOTS ON GOAL--Finland 7-10-10--27. Sweden 9-11-8--28.

GOALIES--Finland, Antero Niittymaki. Sweden, Henrik Lundqvist.

Referee--Paul Devorski, Canada. Linesmen--Milan Masik, Slovakia; Thor Eric Nelson, United States.

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MEDAL WINNERS

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY

GOLD

* Sweden

SILVER

* Finland

BRONZE

* Czech Republic