Elias Pettersson makes feelings known about OT loss to Canada in 4NFO opener

Forward Elias Pettersson has shared his thoughts after Sweden's 4-3 overtime loss to Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off opener on Wednesday. Canada took an early lead with Nathan MacKinnon scoring on a power play just 56 seconds into the game with an assist from Sidney Crosby.

Talking about Sweden's loss, Pettersson said that the team fought hard.

"Good resilience, worst start imaginable, but I think we battled back. Gave them a good game," Pettersson told the media. "I think we could have won it too in overtime, but yeah, [that's] how it goes.

Brad Marchand made it 2-0 later in the first period. Sweden got on the board in the second period with a goal from Jonas Brodin, but Mark Stone responded to restore Canada’s two-goal lead.

Talking about the second period, Pettersson said,

"Yeah, we were talking about it like, keep going, keeping in place. It's going to come. And it did (in third). So yeah, it's good."

Sweden fought back in the third period. Adrian Kempe scored early, and Joel Eriksson Ek tied the game 3-3. Pettersson praised goaltender Filip Gustavsson, calling him "unbelievable" for keeping Sweden in the game.

Team Canada controlled the game in the first and second periods. They outshot team Sweden 28-26 and won 57.4% of faceoffs.

"Yeah, they come out flying to get a power play score right away. So it's a tough start," Pettersson said about Canada's control in the game. "Then they kept going. I think at the end of the first, we started to get going. Started getting more rhythm and put the puck in better places for us to get it back, etcetera, etcetera. So start creating some offenses, some but yeah."

In overtime, Sweden had chances, but Mitch Marner scored the game-winner for Canada. Pettersson, who had one shot on goal in 16:32 of ice time, said he enjoyed playing in overtime.

"Felt great. I wanted to go out there all the time. We're close to scoring, and then later they score. It's how it goes," Pettersson said.

Pettersson was excited to play against Canada prior to the game and had expectations of coming out aggressive from the start.

Elias Pettersson is struggling with his scoring touch

Elias Pettersson has entered the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in a disappointing form. He has struggled with the Vancouver Canucks, scoring just one goal in 15 games. His performance dropped after J.T. Miller’s trade to the Rangers, leading to speculation about his future.

Elias Pettersson is signed to a $92.8 million contract. He is the fifth highest-paid player in the league this season. But if you look at his ranking, he is 130th with 34 points.