Teuvo Teravainen And Team Finland Drop Opener To Team USA

Chicago Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen and Team Finland lost game one to Team USA.

The Chicago Blackhawks had their one Four Nations Faceoff representative, Teuvo Teravainen, play for the first time on Thursday night. Teravainen and his Finnish teammates took on Team USA at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Things did not go particularly well for Team Finland in this one. They took a 1-0 lead and then it was all downhill from there. Team USA’s star players came to play and produced in the biggest moments. Eventually, they skated off with a 6-1 victory.

In the loss, Teravainen wasn’t as noticeable as he would hope. He had just shy of 11 minutes of time on ice playing on Finland’s fourth line with Erik Haula and Joel Armia. No points were earned by that line.

You can understand why Teravainen may be playing lower in the lineup as they try to spread the offensive wealth. However, it might be time to load up in the top six. Teravainen has played with Sebastian Aho in the NHL before so that’s something for the Finnish coaching staff to consider if they make changes.

Chicago’s Finnish representative isn’t a star like Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, or Patrik Laine but he is having a solid year on a struggling Blackhawks team. He won’t lead the way but he may deserve a little more ice in the future.

It wasn’t nearly just one player's fault that Finland fell so hard, but it will take a committee to bounce back. With the injuries that they have sustained combined with already having a regulation loss, their already difficult path just got harder.

Teravainen and Team Finland will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they will face their biggest international rival in Team Sweden. The loser of that game is in trouble when it comes to championship aspirations. 

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