Teuvo Teravainen and Team Finland were upset by Team Slovakia in the opener of the men's ice-hockey tournament.
On Wednesday, the Men's Ice Hockey tournament at the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina kicked off. Things started with a match between Team Finland, one of the tournament's historical powerhouses, and Team Slovakia.
Although Slovakia is not considered one of the "powers", it is always competitive, whether NHL players are involved or not.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen was involved as a forward on Team Finland. Playing in their top-six, he was a somewhat noticeable player. In 16:46 of ice time, Teravainen had three shots on goal, including one exceptional chance to score early in the game.
Teravainen doesn't shoot at a high rate in the NHL, but the Finnish clearly had an emphasis on putting pucks on net.
He didn't collect a point, but he was on the ice for Finland's one goal. This lackluster offensive performance by Finland led to Slovakia upsetting them 4-1.
Finland outshot Slovakia 40-25, but they were only able to get one past goaltender Samuel Hlavaj. Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens led the way offensively for Slovakia, scoring two goals and adding an assist on an empty-netter.
Slafkovsky, who was the tournament MVP en route to a Bronze Medal as a 17-year-old when NHL players were absent in 2022, seems to be a man on a mission once again.
Adam Gajan, who is a Blackhawks prospect currently playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota Duluth, is Slovakia's third-string goaltender. It is doubtful that he will see playing time, especially after Hlavaj's performance against Finland, but it's worth noting that he's on the team.
Now, Teravainen and Finland have to pick up the pieces if they want to still make a run in the tournament. There isn't enough time to feel sorry in a tournament like this. They must get to work on bouncing back so they are better in the future.
Finland's next match will come on Friday, when they will play their biggest international rival, Team Sweden. All of a sudden, that game has even more weight tied to it than it already did.
For reference, Slovakia will play Team Italy at the same time as the Sweden-Finland game. Group B, the group without Team USA or Canada, has fireworks popping early.
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