As long as they kept the score close, a regulation loss wouldn't have killed them completely because the possibility of a three-way tie with Russia and Finland at 2 points apiece was still on the table. Here's how it could have gone down, with their potential outcomes from today followed by what they'd have needed from Finland-Russia:

Regulation loss - Finland win in regulation but not a major (like, seriously major) blowout
OT/SO loss - Finland win in regulation with any score
OT win - Finland win of any kind
Regulation win - Any outcome but Russia winning in regulation and catching up in goal differential