Connor McDavid and Team Canada defeated Mattias Ekholm and Team Sweden, 4-3 in overtime. While the final score tells one story, there are more interesting things to glean from a handful of other stats.
Everyone expects offense at a best-on-best tournament. That makes the defensive aspects more impressive.
Team Canada blocked 25 shots on Wednesday night’s opener. This is very high, even for an NHL game. This shows the dedication to defense that head coach Jon Cooper is preaching to his squad.
Sweden clawed their way back from an early hole, and Ekholm played a role in that. He played the third-most minutes of all Sweden defenders with 19:30.
Viktor Arvidsson was utilized in a depth role and finished the game with 10:08 minutes.
28 Shots vs. 26 Shots
A further testament to the defensive knack that both teams displayed was the shot clock. The shots were 28 to 26 in favor of Canada.
