Mika Zibanejad, Gabriel Landeskog's brutal take on Sweden's Olympics loss vs. Finland

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Mika Zibanejad, Gabriel Landeskog's brutal take on Sweden's Olympics loss vs. Finland originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Sweden was one of the favorites to go up against Canada in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics gold medal match. After their 4-1 loss to Finland, those chances are starting to look bleak. Coach Sam Hallam's squad can still make an unbelievable run to usurp expectations but he might need to heed the concerns of Mika Zibanejad and Gabriel Landeskog. The New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche veterans diagnosed big problems when they were in the ice.

Barriers to bouncing back in Milano Cortina​

The main issues for Sweden were their goaltending and special teams. Coach Hallam's squad just could not start a spark in their offense to generate momentum. Whenever Sweden got the power play man-advantage, they struggled and the result was only notching one of six in that area of the offense. Zibanejad noted the schematic decisions which led to big mistakes, via Bill Price of NHL.com.

"I think at times maybe we're stretched out a little bit too much. We try to play five close. I think everyone tries to, but when we get stretched out like that, it's hard to get a forecheck going. It's hard to kind of get any sustained pressure. So just a little bit closer and a little more speed, especially when teams back off," the Rangers center suggested.

Sweden now ranks eighth in the Olympics when it comes to shots on goal percentage. They have only managed to find the back of the net 6.32% of the time which is far cry from expectations given that they have a loaded roster on offense. Landeskog outlined that they could have more effort right when the game starts to start heating up earlier.

"Yeah, I think there's another level there, for sure. I thought tonight we're a little bit sleepy in the first period and they were not, and then thought we got better as the game went on. I'm not overly concerned about where we finish. I want to make sure that we play well as a team and find a way to win a hockey game tomorrow, and then we'll see where we end up," the Avalanche veteran said.

There is still a chance that Sweden wins their group. However, the margin for error will basically be nonexistent if they want that to happen. Will Coach Hallam be able to get them a gold medal for the first time since 2006?

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