MILAN — Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler traded their Devils red for Swiss red, and helped put their country in a favorable position heading into the single-elimination portion of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament.
As Switzerland defeated Czechia 4-3 in overtime Sunday afternoon, Meier posted a two-point effort and scored his team-leading third goal on the power play while skating on a line with Hischier.
The OT victory ensured the Swiss won’t finish any lower than the No. 6 seed.
Their final placement, however, will depend on the rest of the Group C results.
Canada may be the undisputed favorite in its group, but Switzerland could finish as high as No. 5 after emerging victorious from the first overtime period of the preliminary round.
To get to experience this all with their NHL teammates has made it that much more memorable for the Devils trio.
“It’s been a lot of fun having the opportunity to play with two of your teammates that are teammates with your club, even more special,” Meier said. “Playing with Nico, as well, helps to have that kind of chemistry already built. But I think this group we have here, we love playing with each other. We’re a really tight group. This is the first time we’re obviously together like this, but over the years, we’ve played with each other. We love battling for each other.”
Meier has been a crucial piece for the Swiss, collecting an assist in addition to his three goals to go along with a plus-five rating Sunday.
His five shots on goal were tied with Hischier for the most on the team.
If Switzerland finishes in fifth, they will likely play Italy in the play-in.
If they fall to sixth, Switzerland would probably face France.
Three Swiss players — Kevin Fiala, Denis Malgin and Andrea Glauser — went down in their loss to Canada in the previous game.
It was a particularly scary scene for Fiala, who had to be stretchered off the ice before undergoing surgery, which will sideline him for the remainder of the Kings season.
“He’s still with us,” said Hischier, who is one of seven Devils in Milan along with the United States’ Jack Hughes, Sweden’s Jesper Bratt and Jacob Markstrom, and Slovakia’s Simon Nemec. “We’ll play for him … He’s one of our best players, so it’s obviously a tough loss for us. He’s still engaged with us and he’ll cheer us on.”
Prior to puck drop Sunday, Fiala sent his Switzerland teammates a “really emotional” video message.
The goal was to pump the team up, which was successful as they took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission following goals from Hischier and Roman Josi.
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Fans of both nations have shown up in full force since the tournament began.
Czechs have draped hundreds of the country’s flags around the entire lower bowl during each game.
It has created a sort of home-ice advantage environment at times, but the Swiss made their presence known as well.
Czechia was able to sandwich Switzerland’s lone third-period goal from Pius Suter with two of its own.
Martin Necas scored the second of the two, giving the Avalanche forward five points in the tournament so far.
“It’s never easy to lose a lot of guys,” Siegenthaler said. “Especially three in one day. But we have good depth. They did a pretty well job. It’s all about that. Some players had some other roles today. Some bigger roles, some smaller roles. I think at the end it’s just about accepting your role. Just doing it for our country and it’s a short tournament. You just want to do whatever it takes.”
