On a day filled with fiercely fought games, the US wasn’t nearly as sharp as it was in its 5-1 opening win over Latvia. Both Swayman and Danish counterpart Mads Sogaard had rough nights.

Swayman, the Bruins ace, was twice beaten in the first period. The first came at 1:40 on Nick Olesen’s slapper from inside the red line that was kicked in by US defenseman Zach Werenski for a 1-0 lead. After Matt Boldy tied it with his wraparound at 3:35, Jensen’s shot from the point gave Denmark a 2-1 lead at 11:16.

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“I mean, it’s just battle and adversity and do whatever you have to do to stop the puck, and I’m really proud of this group for staying even keeled,” said Swayman, who finished with 18 saves on 21 shots.

“The confidence never left the group and that’s a serious trait at this stage in the tournament. And the guys rallied and we got it done.”

Sogaard, meanwhile, left the game with what looked like a right leg injury in the third period. He stopped 32 of 37 shots.

The US (2-0) remained atop the Group C standings with 6 points, and a plus-7 goal differential, heading into Sunday’s preliminary finale against Germany (3:10 p.m.).

The low-danger chance that eluded Swayman instantly became a debate topic.

On the NBC broadcast, former NHL goalie Brian Boucher suggested the color of the boards in Swayman’s sightline — an almost-black shade of blue — could have hidden the puck. Jensen also shot around the royal blue uniform of Boldy, who was trying to check him.

Swayman said he was flash-screened, and while he lost the shot — “it was the perfect height between the boards and the stands” — he is colorblind, so the hue of the boards didn’t affect him.

“Same way, baby,” he said of his confidence level after the goal. “Doesn’t waver.”

When it went in, Jensen grinned in apparent disbelief. A veteran of the German league, the 36-year-old had scored three times in 11 years of international play, and never in two Olympic appearances.

“First I wanted to dump it, and then I was like, ‘OK, I might as well just put it toward the net,’” Jensen said. “It’s hard to see with the bleachers, but no, I got lucky. And I appreciate he gave me that.”

US coach Mike Sullivan said he didn’t consider pulling Swayman at any point on Saturday. Teammate Jack Eichel said no one had to counsel him.

“Sway is a confident man,” said Eichel, who had a goal and an assist despite losing the puck in the lights a few times. “He knows nine times out of 10 — or 99 times out of 100 — he’s going to have that. It’s a crazy play.

“We don’t fault him. He’s part of our group, he made some huge saves for us at key times of the game. Funky bounce. You just move on.”

Three second-period goals, from Brady Tkachuk, North Chelmsford’s Eichel, and Norwood’s Noah Hanifin, gave the US a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes.

The Danes cut the lead to one near the second intermission, when defenseman Phillip Bruggisser, tallied a point shot blocker side with three seconds remaining in the period.

Jake Guentzel made it a two-goal game, 5-3, at 7:24 of the third, hammering home an Auston Matthews feed from the left hash mark.

Lifted with nine minutes left, Sogaard appeared to tweak his right leg while robbing Brady Tkachuk in the slot. Backup Frederik Dichow allowed the sixth US goal when Jack Hughes banked it in off Dichow’s skate.

Sullivan dressed Connor Hellebuyck as his backup, making Jake Oettinger unavailable. Going in, the Americans were widely viewed as having the best goaltending in the tournament.

Asked before the game what went into the decision to start Swayman, Sullivan noted they were playing three games in four nights and that he had three goalies capable of winning.

It’s unclear who he will choose Sunday — and whether Swayman will get another start in this tournament.

“Definitely one I want back,” Swayman said of the red-line shot, “but at the same time, especially at this level, you’ve got to stay even-keeled. It’s one shot at a time and no matter how they go in, you’ve got to step up and stop the next one.”

Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on BlueSky at mattyports.bsky.social.