Sweden’s Olympic opener got uncomfortable fast, then William Nylander stepped in

Team Sweden came into Wednesday's game with a wave of confidence. How could they not? They boast some of the world's best players and have probably the best chance of winning gold next to Team Canada and the United States.

But against host country Italy, it was something of a nightmarish start for the Tre Kronor. Five minutes into the game, Italy defenseman Luca Frigo stole the puck after Filip Gustavsson coughed it up, dropped his stick and let in the first goal:

After that, Sweden was able to get the advantage thanks to goals from Gabriel Landeskog and Gustav Forsling before Matt Bradley surprised everyone to tie the game at 2-2.

But it was Maple Leafs forward William Nylander who saved the day, scoring the eventual game-winner putting a backhand past goaltender Daniel Clara; who put in a strong performance but left the game after injuring himself making a save.

Sweden outshot the Italians 60-22 and both teams only took one penalty all game, and if it weren't for Landeskog scoring with literally one second left on the power-play; it may have been a different story.

We almost saw the second straight upset after Slovakia defeated Finland 4-1 in the first game of the tournament, and it proved that Italy is a team that although doesn't get much attention doesn't mean they don't have some pretty good players.

Nylander was potentially missing this game after he skipped practice and was a game-time decision, but head coach Sam Hallam felt he was good to go and it certainly paid off.

Fellow Maple Leaf Oliver Ekman-Larsson wasn't a factor in the game, though he was very active and vocal on the bench and didn't hide his excitement when Mika Zibanejad made it 4-2, so at least his passion is there.

Nylander and Sweden will have a chance to double up on a win as they take on rivals Finland on Friday Feb. 13 as they look to hand them a second straight loss, and expect Nylander to be a huge part of the festivities.

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