Erik Karlsson was pleased and displeased after the loss to Canada.
Pleased with his team's play after the poor start – but displeased that it still didn't end with a win.
It's annoying to fall on the goal post, he says afterwards, standing in Tre Kronor's locker room in Bell Centre's interior.
Erik Karlsson was one of those who got the Swedish offense going.
He had a goal-assisting pass to Adrian Kempe's 2–3 goal, where he opened up the way for his teammate with a few quick moves in the middle zone.
Criticized by "Garpen"
Former national team captain Johan Garpenlöv, Radiosporten's expert commentator, made a statement a while ago that Erik Karlsson didn't deserve a spot in Tre Kronor in Four Nations due to his defensive shortcomings.
Some agreed, most didn't.
No, but that's how it is. You read a lot and it's not that many people who watch every match. It's gone a bit slow in Pittsburgh maybe, so it's easy to go in that direction, he says.
But adds quickly that he never doubted himself:
I feel good, I have a lot left to give and I'm an incredibly good player. And I'm playing with good players here, he says.
"One of the best"
National team captain Sam Hallam praised Erik Karlsson, who finished the match +1 in the plus/minus statistics.
He was superbly good, one of the best players on the ice.
In the end, it was still the poor start that fell Tre Kronor, with a goal against already after 54 seconds and a deficit of both 0–2 and 1–3.
After that, Sweden played themselves up.
The comeback from 1–3 to 3–3, and a point, is something to take with you.
We didn't play like we wanted to in the beginning, we were down by two goals twice, but we held on well, overall it was a really good match. It's going to be fun to continue playing here and hopefully we can go all the way, says Erik Karlsson.
Canada's big player was Sidney Crosby, Karlsson's teammate in Pittsburgh.
He stood for three assists, including a behind-the-back pass to Nathan MacKinnon's 1–0 goal and to Mitch Marner's winning goal, and was named the match's best player.
37 years old.
The guy...This is where he's at his best, when it's the big deal and the biggest matches, he's proven that throughout his entire career. Unfortunately, it's not something you're surprised about, says Erik Karlsson.
