Detroit Red Wings' Lucas Raymond helps Sweden shoot down Finland at World Championship
Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond got to practice his shootout skills to great success at the World Championship.
Sweden's preliminary round game against Nordic rival Finland ended with a 2-1 victory for Raymond's Swedes after he converted twice in the shootout round. The format is different from how the NHL settles regular-season games in that instead of three rounds, there are five, and the same player can go more than once.
The sides played a close game in regulation at Nokia Arena in Finland. Raymond went second in the shootout, at which point Sweden had scored once and the hosts, twice. The Finns converted on their fourth attempt. Raymond was able to convert again when he took Sweden's fifth attempt, and the Finns missed on their last attempt.
Four days into the tournament, the Swedes are in second place in Group A, behind the United States, which is undefeated in three contests. The Finns are in fourth place, also trailing Denmark. At the end of the preliminary round, which goes through May 23, the top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals.
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Wings forward Jonatan Berggren recorded an assist on Oscar Lindberg's goal in the second period, which gave the Swedes a 1-0 lead. That was Berggren's third assist in three games. Sweden's preliminary round schedule continues with games against Hungary, France, Denmark and the U.S.
Raymond, who talked at the end of the season about his anticipation for the World Championship after skipping it last year, has scored on four of his nine shootout attempts in a Wings uniform over the past two seasons. The Wings won three of their seven games that went to a shootout this past season.
In the late Group B game Monday, Dominik Kubalik scored a goal and had an assist, but his Czechs lost in overtime, 4-3, to co-host Latvia at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' Lucas Raymond has a big game at World Championship
