How Teuvo Teravainen Will Fit In With Team Finland

The Chicago Blackhawks will have Teuvo Teravainen representing them and Team Finland at the Four Nations Faceoff.

The Four Nations Faceoff is underway in Montreal. It started Wednesday night as Team Canada had a thrilling overtime winner against Team Sweden in an instant classic. 

Now, Chicago Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen and his Team Finland teammates will take on Team USA in the tournament's second game. Teravainen is Chicago's only representative in the tournament. 

How will Teravainen fit in with Finland's roster in their first game? Well, the practices that they've had are an indication of what to expect.

Teravainen skated in practice with Erik Haula of the New Jersey Devils and Joel Armia of the Montreal Canadiens. It is the fourth line but having Teravainen down there is a tactic to get offense out of Armia and Haula while maintaining good defense in the bottom six.

He will skate on the second power-play unit with Artturi Lehkonen, Anton Lundell, Mikael Granlund, and Esa Lindell. It’s a great second group that should complement the elite top unit (Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Patrik Laine, and Aleksander Barkov) well.

Those players on the top power-play unit are the ones that Finland expects to carry the load offensively. However, to win a tournament like this with teams like Canada, Sweden, and the United States to deal with, your depth must show up. That’s where Teuvo Teravainen comes in for the Finnish.

So far this NHL season, Teravainen has respectable numbers. In 55 games, Teravainen has 12 goals and 28 assists for 40 points. He came into the break red hot as he had six points in the last three games before leaving for this tournament. Connor Bedard is the only Blackhawk with more points than him this year so far. 

If he can bring some of that momentum into this first game against Team USA, the Finnish will have a chance. If they don't get off to a good start, their odds of winning the tournament get even longer. 

Teravainen is on this team to provide offense in the lower half of the lineup which is something he should be able to do well. In a reduced role, Teravainen can be a productive hockey player. 

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