Defeat to an impressive Norway three days earlier left Sweden on the brink of elimination with three wins and three defeats to their name, but as the Norwegians went on to secure their Quarter-final place by beating Czech Republic, Slovakia lost to Canada, meaning this meeting was a direct battle for a place in the last eight.
With five minutes played, it was Slovakia who were on course to take that place, after Patrik Koch raced down the left wing before playing the puck across to Adam Sykora, who helped it on its way to Martin Chromiak, and his shot was too quick for Magnus Hellberg.
Sweden were then guilty of a delay of game, and Erik Brannstrom was called for holding, but it was Slovakia who were punished for not making use of their powerplays, as Tre Kronor equalised with four minutes of the first period to go.
Mattias Ekholm squared along the blue line to Joel Persson, and his quick forward pass found Anton Frondell on the right side, allowing the Chicago Blackhawks man to unleash a quick shot that beat goaltender Samuel Hlavaj despite the tight angle to send the teams in level after 20 minutes.
In the first 11 minutes of the second period, Sam Hallam's side not only turned the match on its head, but gave themselves some breathing space. They were 2-1 up less than three minutes in, winning possession in their own zone before Carl Grundstrom found Jakob Silfverberg at centre ice, and he cruised into Slovak territory before picking his spot past Hlavaj.
Then, a brilliant piece of individual play but them two goals clear - Ivar Stenberg carried the puck at speed into the attacking zone, before sending his marker crashing to the ground with an expert deke before slamming the puck into the net.
But late in the second, Sweden gave Slovakia a lifeline as Brannstrom was again penalised, this time for interference, and Marek Hrivik finished off the powerplay move to reduce the deficit back to one ahead of the final period.
In the third period, however, Sweden kept their discipline, not giving away any powerplays and limiting Slovakia to just six shots on goal in a professional defensive display before a huge collective sigh of relief was taken after Oliver Ekman-Larsson made it 4-2 with an empty-net goal with a minute to go.
Sweden finish fourth in Group B on 12 points, one clear of the eliminated Slovakia. The Swedes will play the winner of the Switzerland vs Finland match later today in the Quarter-finals on 28th May.
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