Before taking off for Italy, Rasmus Andersson was giddy to represent Sweden in the Winter Olympics.
The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman did it only twice in the past 10 years. Getting to do it on the Olympic stage was next-level excitement.
He was even going to get a bigger role based on the first few practices. That didn’t happen.
Andersson played two games and was a minus-2. He was a healthy scratch twice, including Sweden’s 2-1 loss to Team USA in the quarterfinals.
How was the experience?
“You’re always grateful for representing the national team and the Three Crowns and all that kind of stuff,” Andersson said. “From a personal standpoint, I’ll leave it at no comment.”
Sweden coach Sam Hallam made questionable decisions throughout the tournament. He played Filip Forsberg, one of the NHL’ s top goal scorers, 1:07 against France and 9:31 against Finland.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson also saw inconsistencies in his ice time.
Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin didn’t even see the ice in overtime of Sweden’s elimination loss.
Sweden’s collection of talent should have had the country competing for the gold rather than watching the game at home.
But Andersson did enjoy the epic gold medal game that saw Team USA outlast Canada 2-1 in overtime and was happy for teammates Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin to win their first Olympic medals.
“It was a great game,” Andersson said. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for for a long time. I don’t think anyone left disappointed.”
Andersson, along with center Tomas Hertl, returned to Knights practice Monday as the team prepares its return to play with a five-game road trip starting Wednesday in Los Angeles.
‘It was super cool’
Hertl, much like Andersson, saw his Olympic run end at the hands of his teammates in overtime. Czechia lost 4-3 to Canada on a game-winning goal by Mitch Marner.
Hertl didn’t have as strong an impact as he hoped, with one point in four games. He still enjoyed the experience.
“It was super cool to be in the village, see all the other athletes, hanging out with other Czech athletes. Just talking our language is always fun,” Hertl said. “My family (came). Not just my kids and wife, but my family from Prague flew in. Everybody could be a part of it. It was super cool, but it would’ve been nice to end up a little better.”
Hertl, too, was excited to watch his five teammates take part in the gold medal game. He felt Canada was destined to win in regulation with all the scoring chances they generated.
Once it got to 3-on-3, Hertl thought the U.S. would find a way.
“Sometimes, even someone looks a little better, but that’s sports,” Hertl said. “Especially overtime, 3-on-3, which anything can happen. It’s like 50-50. A bad bounce, you get a great scoring chance.”
Hertl added he was happy to see the U.S. win since it was the first gold medal in 46 years.
“You’re happy for them because USA didn’t win for a long time. Canada was always there. They have a lot of medals,” he said. “Maybe (the U.S.) was a little (bit of an) underdog. I always like to cheer for the underdog.”
No rest for the weary
Hertl and Andersson don’t have much time to rest, given they’ll be back in the air for the trip this week. Soon, they’ll play 20 games in the span of a month.
Nothing to do now, Hertl said, but to just get up and go.
“We have important games moving forward, especially this month. It’s the craziest month of the year,” Hertl said. “You don’t even think about it. You’re just getting ready and you want to play.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Kings
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
TV: TNT, truTV, HBO Max
Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM
Line: Kings -115; total 5½
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