The 4 Nations Face-Off is in the midst of a huge rivalry day with matches between Sweden and Finland, and the United States against Canada. After one period against Finland, however, Team Sweden has swapped goalies.
Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson started the tournament with an overtime loss to Team Canada but followed that with a less-than-stellar start against Finland. After giving up two goals on four shots faced, Team Sweden has swapped out Gustavsson for Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark starts period 2 for Sweden
The first period between Sweden and Finland ended with the Fins up 2-1. Sweden quickly capitalized to tie the game at two shortly after making the goalie swap. In a short-form tournament like the 4 Nations Face-off, coaches must be quick when it comes to goalie changes and hope they can quickly make a difference.
As the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament approached, it wasn’t clear if Ullmark would be able to represent Sweden. He missed a little over a month of the Senators' season due to a back injury.
Ullmark returned to the Senators lineup to play a pair of games before the tournament but lost both outings. Despite the injury and back-to-back losses, Ullmark was committed to representing his country.
Gustavsson made 24 saves on 28 total shots in the overtime loss to Canada. Entering the tournament, Gustavsson has a 22-11-3 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.63 goals against average.
Ullmark has played in 25 games with a 12-9-2 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average.
Goaltending seemed to be a question mark for Team Sweden heading into the tournament as Ullmark recovered from his injury, and likely starter Jacob Markstrom suffered an injury of his own.
New Jersey Devils netminder Markstrom suffered a lower-body injury and was ruled out for the entirety of the tournament. Philadelphia Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson was named to the team as a replacement.
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