Sweden harshly criticizes the Olympic format: "Brutal"

In the four quarterfinal matches of the Olympics, three went into overtime. The last quarterfinal on Wednesday ended with the United States winning 2-1 against Sweden, as Quinn Hughes decided the game in overtime.

In the Olympic tournament, overtime is played three-on-three even in the knockout stages. The length of overtime in the knockout phase is ten minutes, after which there is a shootout. In the final, 20-minute overtime periods are played three-on-three until a decision is reached.

The three-on-three overtime drew strong criticism from the Swedish camp after the quarterfinal defeat.

– I think it should have been played five-on-five. I checked the rules before the tournament and knew what to expect. It’s frightening to think that an Olympic final can be decided three-on-three in 20-minute periods, Sweden’s captain Gabriel Landeskog stated to Expressen.

– It should be five-on-five. Just look at the year 2010, what a classic that was! And the same in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But I’m not the one who decides the rules, Landeskog continued.

Sweden’s head coach Sam Hallam was on the same page as Landeskog regarding the issue.

– In the group stage, I can somewhat buy it. But since overtime lasts ten minutes, it’s brutal. If you play your best players a lot, it’s also incredibly exhausting. There are a few things that might be worth looking into, Hallam noted.

– However, I want to emphasize that I don’t use the format as an excuse. We knew that overtime would be played three-on-three. The United States took a fair victory. But of course, five-on-five would be more sportsmanlike when playing knockout games, Hallam concluded.

In the Olympic semifinals, Canada will play Finland and the United States will face Slovakia.