In 2017, the New York Rangers already went out in the quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A disappointed Henrik Lundqvist needed time to think, but decided after some hesitation to go to the WC in Cologne.
Tre Kronor beckoned and his brother Joel was appointed team captain.
They had won SC gold together long before with Frölunda, but never played in the national team at the same time.
It could be the last chance for the twin brothers to play on the same team again.
On the morning before the WC final, eight days after Henrik Lundqvist arrived in Cologne, it was dramatic behind the scenes.
A knee injury in the final looked to stop him from playing the final.
- I never thought I would be able to play that match.
I was in pain and could barely move.
Halfway into the match, the numbness in the knee began to wear off.
And of course the match went to overtime and penalties, says Lundqvist and laughs.
The celebration after his penalty save that wins the World Cup gold is a classic.
William Nylander, who was the first to reach Lundqvist, threw himself over him and the goalkeeper fell backwards.
- The hip hurt so damn much.
I landed right on the ball of my hip and was in pain for a month, says Henrik Lundqvist.
And the story of why exactly William Nylander jumps on Lundqvist as he does after the penalty save goes back to 2005.
- We often greeted "Nyllet", Mikael Nylander, who played in the same team my first year in the NHL.
Then I played field hockey with his boys.
And then "little Nyllet" and I won together.
You never know where life will take you.
That is what is beautiful.
Today the documentary "Henrik Lundqvist – a hockey saga" premieres on SVT.
SVT Sports' Marie Lehmann has followed Henrik Lundqvist's NHL career from the very beginning and you get to see unique and never-before-seen material in the documentary.