Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju and Tage Thompson were back at practice on Friday after taking part in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Dahlin played very well, but he wasn’t happy with the way Team Sweden played, going 1-0-2. Dahlin felt, as a team, Sweden underachieved, and you could tell it was still weighing on him when he spoke on Friday.
"It was fun. I’m not happy with the result, but it was cool to hang out with really good players," Dahlin said.
"It was good to be out there. High pace, but it was just tough that we didn’t make the finals."
Growing up, Dahlin idolized Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins), and now he got a chance to play with them. He gained a lot from that experience.
"It’s how professional everybody is, and how much it takes to be the best. How much hard work it takes and there’s no days off," Dahlin said.
Dahlin was just so down as he was talking. He said he was especially down watching the final on Thursday night.
"It was tough watching the game yesterday. I wish I was there. I believe we could’ve played better for sure," Dahlin said.
"We weren’t best when it matters, let’s just say that. I don’t want to blame the point system or whatever. It’s the same for everybody, but we weren’t best when it matters."
Sweden played in two overtimes, and Dahlin never saw the ice in either one of them. That didn’t sit well with him.
"I don’t know. We have a coach, he makes the decisions. I’m a team player, so that’s how it was," the defenseman said.
Dahlin was paired with Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers) in Sweden's three games, and they had an immediate chemistry. Dahlin was glad they were partners.
"He’s such a great skater, and he can keep up with anybody," he said. "His stick is really good, so we had really good chemistry. It was a lot of fun playing with him."
Dahlin says he enjoyed blocking one of Henri Jokiharju’s shots against Finland, even though he said it almost destroyed his elbow.
The Sabres captain added he was disappointed that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen didn’t get a chance to play, because he felt the goaltender had earned it.
With injuries and sickness, Team USA called Tage Thompson to Boston after practice on Wednesday. Thompson couldn’t even go on the ice with the team, though, unless there was an injury or sickness taking one of the players out of Thursday’s game.
Thompson recalls the crazy 24 hours that was for him.
"It was just that, pretty wild rollercoaster," the Sabres forward said Friday. "Got off practice, got the phone call that they need me in case of an emergency, flew there. But just being there was pretty cool, to be around the guys for a little bit and to watch the game live."
When Thompson was 16, he played on the U.S. National Under-18 Team coached by Don Granato with Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers), Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins), Adam Fox (New York Rangers) and Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars). Had he gotten into the Team USA lineup, he would’ve been comfortable.
"I know a lot of those guys playing with them at the program or World Juniors, or different USA camps. And then even if you haven’t played with them, you’ve played against them, and you’re familiar with a lot of them. So it’s pretty easy, especially to jump in with players of that caliber," Thompson said.
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Thompson would love to start playing in meaningful games, and he knows he and his Sabres teammates have nobody to blame but themselves.
"For us here in Buffalo, we’ve done a really poor job of doing that over a long period of time," Thompson acknowledged. "I think anytime you see an atmosphere like that, you can feel it. I think it gives you those chills, and it’s something you wan. It’s something our group is working towards."
The Sabres get back into the season on Saturday against the New York Rangers in Buffalo.
Join Pat Malacaro and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 4:30 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Thompson, Dahlin and Alex Tuch.