Golden sendoff for Sweden's Big Three

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The 1994 gold final went to a shootout, an extra round of the tiebreaker, too. Forsberg put the Swedes ahead with a goal that was commemorated on a postage stamp.

This time, he made a pass to Sundin, who dropped the puck back for Lidstrom. The defenseman picked a spot in the net that NHL rookie Antero Niittymaki thought he had covered. The drive clanked off the posts and settled in the net.

“I tried to shoot high on the blocker side and I hit it perfectly,” Lidstrom said.

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That was the only perfect thing on the closing day of these games. Finland was 7-0 before its only loss left the small Nordic nation in second place.

“The silver medal is never going to turn into gold, even when it’s 100 years old,” said Teemu Selanne, who powered the Finnish offense throughout the tournament. “I think a while later, it’ll be a little less disappointing, but I thought we deserved better than this.”

They almost got it. If not for a stunning save by Henrik Lundqvist against Olli Jokinen in the final seconds in front of a seemingly open net, the Finns would’ve forced overtime.

Slide show
Taking gold
Check out the best images from the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Still, their NHLers will return to North America with something to show for their efforts the past two weeks. A tournament that forced the final four teams to play eight times in a span of 11 or 12 days.

The performance was better than gold-medal favorites Canada and Russia, which left Italy without any hardware. The United States met the same fate, knocked out by Finland in the quarters.

Selanne’s smile that he flashed throughout the run changed when he had two teeth knocked out in the quarterfinals against the Americans.

The grin dimmed Sunday when the Swedes danced around their end of the ice, a zone cluttered by helmets, sticks and gloves that were thrown in the air at the end.
Slide show
Emotional Moments
Feb. 26: See photos of athletes' highs and lows from Sunday.

“When the buzzer goes off, you did everything for nothing,” Finland captain Saku Koivu said. “That’s how it feels.

“You play eight games in 12 days, and the one thing that’s realistic is we’re not as deep as the other top 3-4 countries. It’s like the chance of a lifetime. I hope the guys who plan the schedule in Vancouver pay attention to it.”

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