The National Hockey League is always looking to grow their brand and the game. It is amazing to see new fans come in and enjoy this great game. Hopefully, that happened over the weekend with the Global Series that took place in Sweden.
Sweden is one of the top countries in terms of producing NHL talent so it is amazing to see the league go there for a handful of amazing games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings all went over there and did a great job.
The 2023 NHL Global Series in Sweden was a major success for the NHL
Results:
The first game took place on Thursday of last week. The Red Wings took on the Senators in this one and it was wild. The Senators took a 4-0 lead in the game only for the Red Wings to tie it.
Eventually, Tim Stutzle kept the Sens from being embarrassed as he scored an amazing goal in overtime. He did it by baseball swinging one out of mid-air into the net for the win. It was an incredible start to the event.
The second game was on Friday between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs. Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the game but the Maple Leafs came back and won 3-2 in regulation. They scored three goals in the third period led by William Nylander. The Swedish boy extended his point streak to 16 games.
On Saturday, the Senators played against the Wild in what became a great goaltender duel. Anton Forsberg was incredible as his Senators took a 2-1 shootout win after neither team was able to get that second goal in regulation or overtime.
On Sunday, the Maple Leafs and Wild closed out the event with a fun game that ended in overtime. The teams were locked at three going into OT and William Nylander kept his magic going as he scored the game-winner.
Notes:
Nylander was truly incredible during the whole tournament. He was playing very well in North America with his point streak but he elevated it to a new level in his homeland. He should be very proud of the way things are going for him right now.
Of all the players that dominated overseas in this event, Nylander has the be the number one star of all four teams. It was incredible to watch him play at home and the Leafs went 2-0-0 thanks to him.
The Wild went 0-0-2, the Senators went 2-0-0, and the Red Wings went 0-1-1. All four games were one-goal contests and three of the four went to overtime too which is great. The NHL showcased how exciting the sport is with this event and these four teams.
All four of these teams came into the year hoping to be playoff contenders. Now that they are done with Sweden, they want to come back home and keep the good vibes going.
The Leafs are the only one of the four coming back in a playoff spot so it will be interesting to see who ends up going on a run and who stays down.