Chris Kreider Steps up for Team USA

Although the game between Sweden and the USA didn’t make a difference in the championship game, Team USA only scored once and ultimately lost against the Swedish team with a final 2-1 score. Chris Kreider was the only scorer for Team USA.

What was supposed to be an electric game for Team USA was short-circuited by Team Sweden. Team USA was on a high after winning the previous two 4 Nation Face-Off best-on-best hockey games. However, Team USA’s loss had no impact because, due to the point system and winning their previous games, they had already nailed their spot in Thursday’s championship game on Feb. 20th.

Does that mean that Team USA didn’t care about winning this one? Definitely not, because every team loves to win. With the lack of Team USA goals in the game vs. Team Sweden, it didn’t look like they had any force except for Chris Kreider’s only goal.

"'Cause I'm as free as a bird now
And this bird you cannot change
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
And the bird you cannot change"

Team USA's goal song, Lynyrd Skynyrd

Kreider scored the game's first goal in the first minute of the first period. Sweden vs. USA was Kreider’s first 4 Nations game because he was scratched for the first two Team USA games. With the addition of Kreider, all four New York Ranger players were in the lineup for this game. Kreider wasn’t even going to play in the game vs. Sweden, but Matthew Tkachuk couldn’t participate due to a lower-body injury. Kreider showed up for Team USA because he was the only player to get the puck in Sweden’s net, showcasing his drive.

The 4 Nations tournament was in Montreal for the first four games but moved to Boston for the final games. Kreider is from Massachusetts and attended Boston College, so playing in his hometown must have given him a leg up against Sweden.

Unfortunately, this energy didn’t last because Team USA exited the ice with a loss against Team Sweden and no additional goals. All the goals by both teams happened in the first period. Kreider scored for Team USA and Gustav Nyquist and Jesper Bratt for Team Sweden with a final score of 2-1.

Mika Zibanejad didn’t play the Sweden vs. USA game due to being out with an illness. Zibanejad, even being ill with the flu, has to be happy that Team Sweden secured the win. 

Was Team USA holding back to save their energy and get ready for the championship game against Canada, knowing it will be a challenging game? Team USA and Team Canada battle it out with one final match, the championship game on Thursday, Feb. 20th at 8:00 p.m. EST. With Canadian fans booing at Team USA's national anthem in the previous matchup, will Team USA harness the strength and energy to triumph against such an intense team?