With a 3–4 loss against the Czech Republic, Sweden has lost to both of its biggest competitors for group victory; there was also a loss in the opening match against Canada.
Three points in three matches – the only victory so far came against Denmark – make it difficult for Sweden to take either of the first two places in the group.
Very disappointing. We know it was an incredibly important match to put us in a good position for the playoffs, says Hellberg.
Far down in the statistics
The Djurgården goalkeeper entered the tournament as Sweden's first-choice goalkeeper.
But after two games and nine goals conceded, Hellberg is 23rd in the goaltending standings with a 77.40 save percentage. Arvid Söderblom had 87.50 against Denmark.
Against the Czech Republic, Hellberg wasn't much help at the start either. It was 0–3 after 13 minutes after the Czechs had an open field against a Swedish defense that barely existed.
In the first match against Canada, Sweden found themselves down 0–2 before the team found its form.
"It's clear that there's a lot we as a group need to adjust. It feels like when it rains, it rains hard; it feels like everything that went toward the goal went in. We need to act smarter and be quicker in our transitions from the attacking zone to our own zone," says national team captain Sam Hallam.
“Frustrating”
The Czech Republic's fourth goal, the match-winner by Jiri Cernoch, was saved by Hellberg – but was then run into the goal by his own teammate, Simon Holmström.
The goal was video reviewed; the puck was never seen, but the referees still called it a goal because Hellberg's glove was over the goal line. The puck was also under it.
"I made the save before. It's of course frustrating when they call goals in such a random way. I have to trust that the referees made the right decision," says Hellberg.
Tre Kronor will face Slovenia in the next match on Wednesday.
