2015 World Men's Curling Championship: Norway vs Sweden tale of the tape

Norway meets Sweden in the title game at the 2015 World Men's Curling Championship, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sunday (3pm ET, on TSN).

The Norwegians, skipped by Thomas Ulsrud, will be trying to win their second consecutive world championship, after winning gold in Beijing in 2014. Sweden, now skipped by 2013 world champion Niklas Edin, is comprised of three players that met Ulsrud's team in last year's final, when current third Oskar Eriksson was the skip.

These are a couple of sizzling teams. Sweden will try to close out the worlds with a ninth straight win, while the Norwegians are are looking for an eleventh straight win at this competition.

Who's hotter? The numbers will provide some answers. As you'll see, there's some pretty astounding stuff.

Here is a comparative breakdown of the teams ahead of the championship game:

Ulsrud led his team to top spot in the round robin portion of the tournament, with a 10 and 1 win/loss record and then beating Canada in the 1 vs 2 game, 7-6, on Friday night.

Edin led his team to a round robin record of 8 and 3, following up with two straight playoff wins - including Saturday night's breeze of a 6-3 semi-final win over Canada - to run his record to 10 and 3.

Norway has outscored its opponents, this week, by a cumulative score of 101-69 in 12 games. Sweden has outscored its opponents by a score of 97-66 in 13 games.

Head to head, these teams have met four times this season, splitting those games. Ulsrud defeated Edin earlier this week, by a score of 6-5 and much earlier in the season, at the Baden Masters, by a score of 7-6. Ulsrud would go on to win the Baden Masters. Edin scored both his wins at the Le Gruyere European Championship, last November, including a 5-4 decision in the championship game.

Sweden was second in team shooting during the round robin of The Worlds, scoring an 84%. Norway was third, at 81%. The Norwegians shot exactly that, again, in the 1 vs 2 game against Canada. Sweden's playoff numbers were outstanding. They booked an 85% in the 3 vs 4 game win over Finland and then soared to 92% in their semi-final win over Canada, led by Edin's other-worldly 100% on 19 shots.

Below, each player's numbers for the round robin, with Norway on the left, Sweden on the right.

Leads: Havard Vad Petersson, 78% (ranked tied for 10th).  Christoffer Sundgren, 90% (1st).

Seconds: Christopher Svae, 86% (1st).  Kristian Lindstroem, 83% (3rd).

Thirds: Torger Nergard, 80% (3rd).  Oskar Eriksson, 84% (1st).

Skips:  Thomas Ulsrud, 82% (tied for 2nd).  Niklas Edin, 82%.

Ulsrud and Edin have been absolutely on fire over the last few days. Ulsrud's 91% against Canada in the 1 vs 2 game means he has shot over 90% in 5 of his team's last 6 games. Edin shot 88% in his team's 3 vs 4 game victory over Finland and he followed that up with perfection on Saturday night.

Nergard fired a disappointing 70% in the 1 vs 2 game, while Norway's front end tandem of Vad Petersson and Svae each shot 80%.

Erikkson was terrific against Finland, charting an 88%. He was just about as good as Edin, believe it or not, in the semi-final win over Canada, finishing with a 98% mark.

The Swedes are ranked number 7 in the World Curling Tour's Order Of Merit standings (year-to date) while the Norwegians stand 16th.

Edin has one World Curling Tour win to his credit this season (Le Gruyere) and finished second to Mike McEwen and his Manitoba team at the Prairie Showdown, last month. 

Ulsrud won the Baden Masters, last August and, as mentioned, lost to Edin in the final at Le Gruyere.

These are two exceptionally talented teams, each with a red-hot skip at the helm. If it comes down to a battle of the vices, right now it's advantage: Sweden. Nergard will need to improve on his play from Friday night, when he slumped badly against Canada because Eriksson has shot over 90% in 6 of his last 8 games.

It bears repeating that Sweden has won eight straight games and the Norwegians have won ten in a row.