Gabriel Landeskog made it clear that Sweden won’t dwell on the setback, emphasizing that the group will regroup quickly and be fully prepared to deliver a stronger, more urgent performance against Slovakia.
MILAN — Finland exorcised two decades of Olympic frustration on Friday, toppling archrival Sweden 4–1 at Santagiulia Arena in a statement victory that reshaped the Group B race at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
It marked the first time in five Olympic meetings featuring NHL players that Finland has defeated Sweden, adding another dramatic chapter to one of international hockey’s fiercest rivalries.
Juuse Saros was sharp from the outset, turning aside 34 shots to backstop Finland (1-0-1-0). Nikolas Matinpalo, Anton Lundell, Joel Armia and Mikko Rantanen supplied the offense in a composed, opportunistic performance.
Rasmus Dahlin scored the lone goal for Sweden (1-0-1-0) on the power play, while Filip Gustavsson made 20 saves. The loss was Sweden’s first preliminary-round Olympic defeat with NHL players in the lineup in eight such games, dating back to a 3-0 setback against Slovakia at the 2006 Turin Games — a tournament Sweden ultimately won, defeating Finland for gold one week later.
Sweden captain and Colorado Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog said the team got off to a slow start and they were basically playing from behind from the get-go.
"We were sleepy in the first period. They came on and played hard," he stated. We got better as the second and third went on, but at that point, they had a comfortable lead, and they were able to block lots of shots."
Matinpalo opened the scoring at 7:44 of the first period, wiring a rising point shot through traffic to give Finland a 1-0 lead. The defenseman, scratched for Finland’s opener against Slovakia, has just one goal in 75 career NHL games with the Ottawa Senators, making the breakthrough all the more significant.
Lundell doubled the advantage at 15:26, deftly batting a deflected feed from Eetu Luostarinen past Gustavsson. Niko Mikkola collected the secondary assist. All three skaters were part of back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams with the Florida Panthers, bringing poise and championship pedigree to the international stage.
Sweden answered at 4:39 of the second period when Dahlin hammered home a backhand pass from William Nylander on the power play, trimming the deficit to 2-1. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman had recorded three assists in Sweden’s 5-2 victory over Italy earlier in the week.
Finland restored its two-goal cushion at 12:47 of the middle frame while killing a penalty. As Erik Haula battled along the boards with three Swedish defenders, the puck slipped free into the slot, where Armia glided in unchecked and lifted it past Gustavsson to make it 3-1.
Rantanen sealed the result with an empty-net goal from inside his own blue line with 35 seconds remaining, punctuating a disciplined and efficient Finnish effort.
The result tightened Group B considerably. Slovakia (2-0-0-0), which edged Italy 3-2 on Friday, leads the group with six points. Sweden and Finland each sit at three points, while Italy (0-0-2-0) remains fourth.
The top team in each of the three groups, along with the second-place team with the highest point total, advances directly to the quarterfinals. The remaining eight teams will compete in a qualification round Tuesday.
Sweden closes group play against Slovakia on Saturday (6:10 a.m. ET), while Finland faces Italy later that morning (10:40 a.m. ET) in its final preliminary-round matchup.
"We're here to compete," Landeskog said. "We knew it was going to be hard. Every game is going to be a challenge. That's the way it is. We'll recharge and we'll see what we can do better. We’ll get back at it tomorrow."
