Sweden’s Samuel Ersson to start against United States

It appears that Sweden will be the first team to use all three goaltenders on their 4 Nations Face-Off roster, as Samuel Ersson will be in net for the Tre Kronor on Monday night against the United States.

Going into the tournament, Ersson was mostly expected to be the third goalie for the Swedes and not get any action. Part of the reason that he is starting is that Linus Ullmark wasn’t feeling well ahead of game time, but it’s unclear why Filip Gustavsson isn’t starting instead, as with Canada‘s 5-3 win over Finland earlier on Monday, Sweden has nothing to play for. However, Gustavsson has underperformed, and it’s possible that he or the Minnesota Wild don’t want to risk him getting hurt as they look to continue their playoff race down the stretch after the tournament.

Ersson was originally not named to the Swedish roster, as Jacob Markstrom was originally selected to the team and the projected starter based on his performance in the 2024-25 season. However, after he suffered an MCL sprain in late January and was announced out for the tournament, Ersson was named as the replacement.

Ersson has continued to struggle in the NHL this season with the Philadelphia Flyers, as despite a 16-10-3 record, he has an .896 save percentage and -6.37 goals saved above expected in 31 games.

This will be Ersson’s sixth time playing a game for a Swedish international team, having previously done so for the U18 World Championship in 2016-17, the U19 team in 2017-18, the U20 World Juniors team in 2018-19, and the World Championship team in 2021 and 2024.

While Sweden doesn’t have anything to play for on Monday with the United States and Canada securing spots in the championship game, they will hope that Ersson can provide them some stability in the crease. Gustavsson has an .813 SV% after starting Sweden’s first two games, while Ullmark has an .882 SV% in relief of Gustavsson in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Finland.