It was during Tuesday night's win against the Winnipeg Jets when Dallas Stars fans began chanting "U-S-A!" as a way to mock their Canadian opponents, who find themselves down 3-1 in this best-of-seven series.
There was only one problem with the nationalistic dig.
The Jets, who have a U.S.-born captain, a U.S.-born goalie and are led in scoring by a U.S.-born winger, actually have a playoff-high seven Americans on their roster.
As for the Stars, with five Finnish-born players compared to four American-born players, maybe fans would have been better of chanting "Suomi".
After all, the Finnish Mafia is the reason why Dallas is one win away from reaching the conference final.
In Game 4 on Tuesday, it was the Finns — not the Canadians or Americans — who took front stage in a 3-1 win against Winnipeg that featured a hat trick from Mikael Granlund and a return to the lineup from star defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
“Granny led the way,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “What he does on the ice is one thing, but the guy oozes leadership. Our Finnish group there, he’s kind of the elder statesman of that group."
If Dallas has the Finnish Mafia and Winnipeg is America's Team, then who has the most Canadians, Swedes and Russians? The answer might surprise you.
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Team Canada (Edmonton)
The Oilers are truly Canada's team. Led by Connor McDavid, the Oilers have 14 Canadians on their roster — two of which, Brett Kulak and Stuart Skinner, are from Alberta. The Oilers are also one of only four remaining teams (Carolina, Dallas and Vegas are the others) with a Canadian captain.
Aside from McDavid, who has 14 points in 10 games), Edmonton has received big contributions from Canadian defenseman Evan Bouchard (12 points), as well as forwards Corey Perry (five goals), Evander Kane (four goals) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (nine points).
Team USA (Winnipeg)
The Jets have 12 Canadians on their roster, which is second-most among the remaining playoff teams. But from their American-born captain (Adam Lowry) to their Vezina Trophy-winning goalie (Connor Hellebuyck) to their top-scoring forward (Kyle Connor), the heart of their roster lies south of the border.
The only other team that has nearly as many Americans are the Maple Leafs (6), which could potentially turn an All-Canadian final between the two teams into more of an All-American final.
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Team Sweden (Toronto)
From Borje Salming to Mats Sundin, Toronto has had a long, rich history as the home-away-from-home for Swedish-born players. It's a trend that has continued to this day.
William Nylander, who leads the Maple Leafs with six goals and 15 points, is among five Swedes on the playoff roster. The others are defenseman Oliver Ekman Larsson, and forwards Calle Jarnkrok, Pontus Holmberg, as well as third-string goalie Dennis Hildeby. The number would be even higher had the Leafs not traded Timothy Liljegren earlier this season.
Team Finland (Dallas)
There are only 20 Finns playing in the post-season this year. Of those, 25% are playing in Dallas, which has a sort of mini-Helsinki for the NHL.
None have made a bigger impact than Mikko Rantanen, who has emerged as the early Conn Smythe Trophy favorite with two hat tricks in the playoffs, as well as a playoff-leading nine goals and 19 points.
Not to be outdone, Dallas' Roope Hintz is tied for fifth in playoff scoring with five goals, while Granlund, who had a hat trick in Game 4 against the Jets, now has four goals.
“It’s fun, for sure,” Heiskanen said about playing with his fellow countrymen for the first time on Tuesday. “It’s great to have them, they’re great players and important pieces of our team. It was fun to finally be on the ice with them.”
With the Stars selecting two Finns in the 2024 draft — Emil Hemming (29th overall) and Niilopekka Muhonen (158th overall) —the Finnish Mafia’s membership appears to be growing.
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Team Russia (Washington)
Ever since 2004, when the Capitals selected Alex Ovechkin with the No. 1-overall pick, the Capitals have selected 15 Russians in the past 20 drafts. This year, they are tied with the Stars, Hurricanes and Golden Knights with two Russians on the roster, however that number would be higher if we lump in Belarus-born Aliaksei Protas, and if Ivan Miroschenko ends up seeing action in the playoffs.