VANCOUVER (AFP) - National Hockey League star Henrik Lundqvist made 20 saves and defending champion Sweden advanced to the Vancouver Olympic quarter-finals on Sunday by blanking Finland 3-0.

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Loui Eriksson scored two power-play goals and Nicklas Bäckström added another to keep the Swedes unbeaten.

"I thought that was our best performance," Swedish captain Nicklas Lidström said. "We wanted a win to get into the quarter-finals."

Lundqvist, who plays for the New York Rangers, credited defenders for helping keep the pressure off him despite seven penalties that gave Finland extra-man scoring chances.

"We've been playing well defensively," Lundqvist said. "We took a lot of penalties. The way we killed them was big for us."

Sweden and fellow unbeaten United States were joined in earning a bye to the final eight by two-time defending world champion Russia and the Finns, who edged the Czech Republic on goal difference for the last available spot.

Eight other teams must play Tuesday, with the Swedes awaiting Slovakia or winless Norway and the Finns meeting either winless Latvia or the Czechs in Wednesday quarter-finals.

"We start over again Wednesday," Lundqvist said. "Nothing we have done this week matters. It's going to be nice to have an extra day off."

The Finns, who outscored foes 10-1 in winning their first two games, were less than pleased despite needing only three more victories to claim their nation's first Olympic hockey crown.

"We wanted to play a good game. We couldn't. Obviously we have a lot of things to improve," five-time Finnish Olympian and Olympic all-time scoring leader Teemu Selanne said.

"It doesn't matter who we play. We have to play better. If we play like we did today, we have a damn low chance."

Sweden's Johan Franzen said he could see the Finns had little to play for, needing only to avoid a six-goal defeat to book a quarter-final spot while the Swedes were in a must-win situation to claim the bye.

"It was important for us. We had to play for a place," he said. "They didn't have much to play for. (It showed) a little bit."

Finland frustration boiled over when Joni Pitkanen received a five-minute penalty and game misconduct for a hit to the head on Sweden's Patric Hornqvist, who was taken to the locker room but not seriously hurt according to teammates.