MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Sweden swatted aside Latvia 5-1 on Tuesday to reach the men's Olympic ice hockey quarter-finals, taking the long way to a meeting with fellow powerhouse United States after a slow start to the tournament.
Forward Adrian Kemper and captain Gabriel Landeskog scored in rapid succession in the first period, while forward Fillip Nordberg notched a goal in the second and forwards Mika Zibanejad and William Colander added two more in the third.
The Detroit Red Wings winger Lucas Raymond recorded three assists, helping on Landeskog's goal and in both of the third-period tallies.
Slovakia plays Germany, while Canada takes on Czech Republic and Finland faces off against Switzerland in the other three quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Perennial medal contenders Sweden were a surprise entry in the qualification play-offs, after they finished a shocking third in their Group B, missing one of four automatic spots in the quarter-finals and the day off that goes with it.
"This is when the fun begins," said Landeskog. "It's important for us to regroup after this one, obviously recognise what we did well but understanding how our opponent's going to go up another level tomorrow and recognise what a great opportunity it is to see what we're made of."
It may have taken them another game to reach the final eight, but they wasted no time at Santagiulia Area on Tuesday, as a shot from Joel Eriksson Eke bounced in off Kemp's skate and Landeskog swiped the puck in again just 41 seconds later to set the tone.
They added to the lead midway through the second period, when alternate captain Erik Carlson sent a superb pass to Nordberg, who tapped it in.
Latvian forward Eduardo Traumas clawed one back with his third goal of the Games, pushing a rebound over the leg of Swedish goalie Jacob Marks, but Sweden put their foot on the gas from there.
Longtime New York Rangers centre Zibanejad swatted one into an open net six minutes into the final period and Colander guided the puck beautifully around Latvian goalie Elvis Merzlikins to finish the scoring.
The Sweden-U.S. match on Wednesday for a spot in the last four has the feel of a heavyweight bout between two of the pre-tournament favourites.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery, Giulio Piovaccari and Janina Nuno Rios in Milan; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
