4 Nations: Flyers Soar in Round-Robin Wrapup

The championship game between Team USA and Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament will take place at Boston's TD Garden on Thursday night (8 p.m. EST. ESPN/ESPN+).

Canada, Finland and Sweden all entered Monday's concluding games of the round-robin phase of the competition with a chance to advance to the final to play Team USA. Canada ended the suspense early with a convincing 5-3 victory over the Finns to clinch the second spot in the final.

As a result, the outcome of the USA vs. Sweden contest had no bearing on the matchup in the final. Sweden earned a 2-1 regulation victory -- the only team in the tournament not to lose a game in regulation -- but missed out on the final by virtue of overtime defeats by Canada and Finland.

On Monday, for the first and only time in the tournament, all three Flyers players selected by their national teams were in action. Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim dressed for Team Canada against Finland. Samuel Ersson was tasked with starting in goal for Tre Kronor against Team USA. Each of the players turned in a strong performance.

Konecny (12:11 of ice time across 19 shifts, two shots on goal, one credited hit) did not get on the score sheet but played with a lot of energy and buzzed around the scoring areas on multiple shifts. Meanwhile, defenseman Sanheim (18:23 of ice time in 28 shifts, one shot on goal, two blocked shots) played a strong all-around game in all three zones.

Sanheim's one shot on net figured directly into a Brayden Point goal that gave Canada a 3-0 lead at 13:02 of the first period. Sanheim wasted no time jumping into a rush with Connor McDavid and Point. Goalie Kevin Lankinen made an initial stop on Sanheim from the left circle but Point stashed home the rebound from the crease.

Canada led 4-0 by the end of the second period. The Finnns attempted a comeback in the third period, drawing as close as 4-3 within the final two minutes after a pair of goals by Mikael Granlund. Finally a Sidney Crosby empty netter at 19:04 sealed the win for the Canadians.

With the final matchup already set, Sweden had nothing to play for but pride against Team USA. The first five minutes of the game looked like Ersson might have fend for himself all night.

Thirty-five seconds after the opening faceoff, the Americans owned the game's first goal. With space to make a play off a transition rush, Columbus Blue Jackets star defenseman Zack Werenski put a shot pass off Ersson's pads from the bottom the right circle, looking for a rebound. The puck went directly to the New York Rangers' Chris Kreider, who scored.

Over the next few minutes, Ersson was tested on two of the next three shots he faced. Most of the play remained in the Swedish end zone, and Ersson had to come up with a dozen saves. At 13:39, Nashville Predators forward Gustav Nyquist knotted the score at 1-1 on a deflection that trickled past American netminder Jake Oettinger.

As the period moved deeper, Tre Kronor began to find their legs, while the Americans were forced to play with just 10 forwards due to injury. New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt sniped a goal at 19:04 to put Team Sweden in the lead.

The second period was evenly played, with Ersson stopping all eight shots he faced and Oettinger denying all nine on the American net. The USA made a push in the third period but Ersson made 12 more saves to finish with 32 stops on 33 shots. He also got help from his posts multiple times during the game.

While Sweden's win on Monday was rather bittersweet for the team, it was an important one for Ersson in an international best-on-best competition. He split time in goal for Sweden last year at the IIHF World Championships but 4 Nations featured an even higher caliber opposition. Ersson remained calm and focused throughout the game and left an impression for when it comes time for future best-on-best tournaments.