In 2002, Näslund made his first and only appearance in the Winter Olympics at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. He scored his first and only two Olympic goals during a 7–1 win against Germany. After going undefeated in the round-robin and heralded as medal favourites, Sweden was defeated by Belarus 4–3 in the quarterfinal. The loss was widely considered one of the most surprising results in Olympic history, while Näslund described the defeat in a post-game interview as "devastating...for us and our country." He finished the tournament with two goals and an assist over four games, ranking fourth on the team in scoring.