LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Special teams were the difference in the first period of Thursday's game between the U.S. and Sweden here at Herb Brooks Arena, as the U.S. took a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
All three goals in the period were scored with the man advantage, capped by John Gaudreau's power-play goal with 55.9 seconds left. Defenseman Mike Reilly led a rush up the ice and sent the puck to Gaudreau, who beat Sweden goalie Niklas Lundstrom.
Shayne Gostisbehere put the U.S. up 9:23 into the game late in a Team USA power play when he took a pass from defense partner Jacob Trouba, skated into the right part of the slot and beat Lundstrom.
Gostisbehere wasn't a hero for long, as he took a delay of game penalty 28 seconds after Reid Boucher had been sent off for slashing. Sweden's Mika Zibanejad took advantage of the five-on-three power play, getting low to bang in the rebound of an Emil Lundberg shot.
More after the second period.
Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK