After Germany's elimination in the preliminary round on Tuesday, Austria and Sweden headed into the playoffs as the only remaining teams with rostered Red Wings. The culmination of the last two weeks of play resulted in a medal for Sweden and heartbreak for Austria, who had qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994.
Austria: Marco Kasper
After keeping their heads above water and qualifying for the IIHF playoffs with a win over Latvia on Tuesday, the Austrian national team was eliminated in the quarterfinal round. Austria, the fourth place team in Group A, fell to Group B's first place Switzerland team in a 6-0 shutout loss.
Marco Kasper, the sole Red Wing representing Austria, put up a strong physical effort against the dominant team. Despite Thursday's loss, Kasper's overall performance at the tournament was remarkable, and it didn't go unnoticed.
Kasper's final total of four goals, three assists, and an average of 20:44 minutes on ice per game made him an easy choice for one of Austria's three best players of the tournament.
Austria placed eighth overall in the final standings, coming in just ahead of the German team captained by Kasper's NHL teammate Moritz Seider.
Sweden: Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, & Erik Gustafsson
After Sweden's loss to Canada in their final game of the preliminary round dropped them down to Group A's second place spot, they faced off against Group B's third place Czech team. In a 5-2 victory that sent them to the semifinals, Lucas Raymond helped give Sweden an early advantage with back-to-back goals in the first period. His multi-goal game earned him his second player of the game award, making him the only Red Wing to be honored twice by his team in this year's tournament.
In Saturday's semifinal action, Sweden faced the Americans, who were also coming off a 5-2 win. The US team, whose strong performance throughout the tournament established a fairly even matchup, held Sweden to two goals and kept the three Red Wings subdued for a win that sent them to the gold medal match for the first time since 1934.
The game knocked Sweden out of the running for gold, but Raymond remained a bright spot amid the frustrating loss. Like Kasper, he was named one of the three best players for his team ahead of their last chance at a medal.
The bronze medal game pitted Sweden against the unlikely heroes of Denmark, who managed to defeat Canada in a quarterfinal upset. They couldn't pull it off twice, though, and Sweden breezed past them to claim their second bronze in a row.
Raymond netted a shorthanded breakaway goal, topping off his overall point total of five goals, six assists, and a +9 rating.
Detroit's Swedish defensemen, Simon Edvinsson and Erik Gustafsson, both finished with positive ratings. Edvinsson tallied one assist through the tournament, and Gustafsson ended with an impressive seven assists.
With the tournament concluded for all five Red Wings involved, it's time for fans and players to turn their focus on what is set to be a crucial offseason for the team.