The Blackhawks and Red Wings will be the most represented NHL teams in Sunday's gold medal game
Sunday's gold medal game will be packed with NHL players, but two teams will be represented more frequently than the rest of the league: The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.
The two former Central Division rivals met in a classic seven-game series last spring that the Blackhawks won en route to the Stanley Cup, so a high-pressure contest won't be out of the ordinary. The biggest difference is that three Swedish Blackhawks players will be wearing the same jersey as the seven Red Wings named to Team Sweden. Making the contest even more intriguing is the fact that Red Wings coach Mike Babcock holds the same job with Team Canada. He'll be coaching against many of his players.
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The Blackhawks are expected to dress the most players on Sunday with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith donning the red maple leaf for Canada. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya will share a blueline for Sweden (as they do in Chicago) and will be joined by forward Marcus Kruger, a penalty-killing specialist.
While Detroit's seven players make up a good portion of Sweden's roster, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen have been sidelined with injuries. Still active are five players: Daniel Alfredsson, Jonathan Ericsson, Jonas Gustavsson, Niklas Kronwall and Gustav Nyquist.
The Vancouver Canucks will be represented by five players on either roster (though Henrik Sedin is out with injury) while the St. Louis Blues feature four players vying for gold.
One interesting fact: There's only one player on either roster who's not affiliated with a NHL team — Swedish forward Jimmie Ericsson who plays for Skelleftea AIK in the Swedish league.
Here's a breakdown of each team's roster by NHL club:
7 players
Detroit Red Wings — Daniel Alfredsson, Jonathan Ericsson, Jonas Gustavsson, Niklas Kronwall, Gustav Nyquist, Johan Franzen* and Henrik Zetterberg* (Sweden)
6 players
Chicago Blackhawks — Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp (Canada), Niklas Hjalmarsson, Johnny Oduya and Marcus Kruger (Sweden)
5 players
Vancouver Canucks — Dan Hamhuis and Roberto Luongo (Canada), Alexander Edler, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin* (Sweden)
4 players
St. Louis Blues — Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester (Canada), Patrik Berglund and Alexander Steen (Sweden)
3 players
Anaheim Ducks — Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry (Canada), Jakob Silfverberg (Sweden)
New York Rangers — Rick Nash (Canada), Henrik Lundqvist and Carl Hagelin (Sweden)
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2 players
Boston Bruins — Patrice Bergeron (Canada), Loui Eriksson (Sweden)
Buffalo Sabres — Jhonas Enroth and Henrik Tallinder (Sweden)
Colorado Avalanche — Matt Duchene (Canada), Gabriel Landeskog (Sweden)
Los Angeles Kings — Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty (Canada)
Montreal Canadiens— Carey Price and P.K. Subban (Canada)
Phoenix Coyotes — Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Sweden), Mike Smith (Canada)
Pittsburgh Penguins — Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz (Canada)
San Jose Sharks — Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (Canada)
Tampa Bay Lightning — Martin St. Louis and Steve Stamkos* (Canada)
Washington Capitals — Nicklas Backstorm and Marcus Johansson (Sweden)
1 player
Dallas Stars — Jamie Benn (Canada)
Nashville Predators — Shea Weber (Canada)
New York Islanders — John Tavares (Canada)
Ottawa Senators — Erik Karlsson (Sweden)
* Out due to injury
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