Sweden Wins Gold in That Other Hockey Tournament
Given the number of Swedes and Canadians who played in the NHL this season, by the time May rolled around, those nations had players to spare.
So did the USA, but the IIHF World Championships has rarely been particularly kind to them.
Russia was missing Alex Ovechkin's annual appearance, and the other usual hockey powers were a little light on firepower this year.
The International Ice Hockey Federation's annual springtime World Championship tournament goes back almost as far as the NHL's assuming control over the Stanley Cup.
Over time, of course, the NHL paid players bigger bucks and virtually cornered the PR market on post-season competition.
So the IIHF Worlds soldier on in the shadow of North American sports' most famous silverware.
Teams there wait for NHL clubs to be eliminated, call their travel agents, and bolster their rosters at every round.
Both Sweden and Canada loaded up, big time, but no addition this year was more significant than the Tre Kronor goalie universally annointed as King Henrik.
That was his final shootout save that sealed the deal for Sweden's 2-1 triumph.
And make no mistake, this is a hard-fought competition.
Just ask Finland's Mikko Rantanen after Anton Strålman said hello at mid-ice in the semi-finals:
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What the hell. Like the Stanley Cup finalists, these dudes all have a couple of months to recover, too.
It's just that the Swedes will do it this year with a bit more satisfaction.