Sasha Barkov’s solid Saturday performance helped propel the Finns past Canada, setting up a high-stakes gold medal rematch against an undefeated Swiss squad looking to finish their perfect run on home soil.
The only nation at the IIHF World Championship with multiple Florida Panthers players is heading to the gold medal match.
On Saturday, Panthers captain Sasha Barkov, along with Cats center Anton Lundell, helped Finland defeat Canada 4-2 in their semifinal matchup at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, Switzerland.
The Finns were trailing by a goal after 20 minutes, but a quick tally by Barkov early in the second period knotted the score at two.
About 10 minutes later, Barkov picked up an assist on what proved to be the game-winning goal by Konsta Helenius.
He’s now up to three goals and 11 points in nine games at the World Championship.
Team Finland will now advance to face tournament host Switzerland, who convincingly defeated Norway earlier on Saturday by 6-0 final score.
It’s been quite a run for the Swiss team.
They marched through the preliminary round with a perfect 7-0 record, winning each game in regulation and finishing with a goal differential of +32, before knocking out Sweden 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
Finland’s only defeat of the tournament was at the hands of Switzerland, a 4-2 affair that took place on Tuesday.
We’ll see how things play out in the rematch.
The gold medal matchup between Finland and Switzerland is set for Sunday at 2:20 p.m. ET.
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Photo caption: Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Finland forward Aleksander Barkov (16) looks on in warm-up before the game against Team USA during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)