A defeat to Switzerland earlier today had mathematically ended the chance of a miracle semi-final progression for Sweden, who came into their penultimate match with one win from seven so far on what has been a disastrous gold-medal defence.
But with the pressure off, they began this match with some of their best curling of the competition, after Norway went 1-0 up, excellent placement in the second from Niklas Edin meant Norway could only clear one of Sweden's lying two, before a draw with the last stone put the Swedes 2-1 up.
The Norwegians elected to blank the third end instead of taking one, and that backfired in the fourth, as Sweden were lying three ahead of what looked to be a simple draw into the centre, but it was underhit by Magnus Ramsfjell, and Sweden stole two to go 4-1 ahead.
Norway showed little of the form that had seen them take four wins from their first six, and after another blank in the fifth, Ramsfjell misjudged another hammer stone, underhitting a raise which failed to remove a Swedish stone from the centre, and Edin's troops collected another point.
End seven was Norway's best of the match as they looked to mount a comeback, as a clean take-out with the final stone left them lying two, but a failed raise with their last stone of the eighth allowed Sweden to play the simplest of draws to take two back and make it 7-3.
The Swedes kept things professional in the next end, keeping the house clear and only giving Norway the opportunity to take one, and with Sweden leading by three and with the hammer in the last end, Norway elected to call it a day after nine ends, giving Sweden a 7-4 win.
Norway stay in the top four with a 4-3 record and two matches to play, while Sweden will complete their campaign against Czech Republic on Wednesday, attempting to improve further on what is now a 2-6 record.