An early look at Sweden's line combinations and defensive pairings
Sweden gathered for its first practice in Sochi on Monday. Despite injuries to Henrik Sedin and Johan Franzen, the 2006 gold medal winning nation still boasts a wealth of talent both up front and on the blue line.
Here's a look at the early line combinations and defensive pairings as put together by head coach Pär Mårts
Forwards
- Gabriel Landeskog - Henrik Zetterberg - Alexander Steen
- Daniel Sedin - Nicklas Backstrom - Loui Eriksson
- Gustav Nyquist - Patrik Berglund - Daniel Alfredsson
- Carl Hagelin - Marcus Kruger - Jimmie Ericsson
- Extras: Jakob Silfverberg, Marcus Johansson
21-year-old Landeskog will get every opportunity to shine in his Olympic debut on the top line with Zetterberg and Steen, while Daniel Sedin will attempt to achieve some measure of success without his twin brother. Gustav Nyquist - Franzen's injury replacement - also appears in line to play a key role on the third line.
Also of note, a pair of NHLers were used as extras in lieu of Swedish League forward Jimmie Ericsson, who has scored 13 goals and added 14 assists in 43 games for Skelleftea AIK this season.
Defense
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Erik Karlsson
- Niklas Kronwall – Jonathan Ericsson
- Johnny Oduya – Niklas Hjalmarsson
- Extras: Henrik Tallinder, Alex Edler
Sweden features a boatload of talent on the blue line, beginning with Norris Trophy caliber talent in Karlsson, Ekman-Larsson and Kronwall. Edler was used an extra as he will serve a two-game suspension to start the tournament after an incident involving Canada's Eric Staal at the 2013 World Championships.
In net, it all begins and ends with Henrik Lundqvist.
Sweden's firts game is on Wednesday against the Czech Republic.