The Swiss and the Swedes are slated to square off in the first round of the IIHF Tournament Playoff. These two squads fought valiantly in the playoffs and there are very few differences on paper.

What's Similar

These teams put up very similar numbers in goals for and goals against. Switzerland scored 3.92 goals per game and Sweden scored 3.75 goals per game. Switzerland allowed 3.17 goals against per game and Sweden allowed 2.92 goals per game. This is a difference of 0.75 for Switzerland and 0.83 for Sweden.

These teams are also very similar on special teams. Switzerland has a 19.6% success rate on the power play, and Sweden has a 18.6% success rate on the power play. Meanwhile, Switzerland has a 85.7% success rate on the Penalty Kill and Sweden has a 86% success rate on the Penalty Kill.

So what will set these teams a part? What are the keys of the game?

First, Sweden shoots approximately 10 1/2 shots more per game than Switzerland. That is a huge shot differential. Switzerland should look to limit Swedens shot attempts to reduce the pressure on their goalie.

How can Switzerland reduce Swedens shot attempts? One way is to be better at the face-off dot. Sweden is the best face off team in this tournament, while Switzerland is the third worst. Switzerlands centers will need to focus to take away possessions from Sweden.

Sweden should not lay off their physical game. Sweden leads the entire tournament in hits, and it is not particularly close. Switzerland has struggled to keep from giving the puck away, and Sweden should look to exploit that weakness.

In an elimination game where the teams are evenly matched, it often comes down to whose stars can perform better under pressure. For Switzerland, that means that Ivan Lacksamus and Meta Knight need to play a stronger game than Swedens Tony Soprano and M'baku Oluburi. Soprano has outscored Knight 12 to 8 in this tournament.

Switzerland has a very interesting decision on net. Both Tibook Soonika and Rebecca Montagne have played well, but backup Montagne's stats are slightly better. Will Switzerland start the hot hand?

Meanwhile, Sweden's Denebor Milasch has solidified themselves as a legit #1 option this tournament. Milasch is second only to Canada's Anthonny Dionne in save percentage and goals saved above average.

Anything can happen in an elination game, but Switzerland will be looking to utilize their home ice advantage as the hosts of this year's tournament. Will Switzerland move on, or will Sweden play the role of spoiler in this match? We are incredibly excited to see the results of this match!

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