Erik Karlsson had been out with a lower-body injury, but his absence was slightly shorter than expected - just under two weeks.
The Swedish star defenseman got almost 20 minutes of ice time in the road game in Edmonton, where Pittsburgh got off to a flying start. It didn't even take three minutes for Pittsburgh to take a 3–0 lead, scoring three goals in the space of 37 seconds.
Rickard Rakell, also on the Swedish Olympic squad, later scored Pittsburgh's 4–1 goal.
Tre Kronor will play their first Olympic match against Italy on February 11th.
