Joel Armia dominates again as Finland routs Italy, and Adrian Kempe Scores as Kings Forwards Steal the Spotlight
Two Los Angeles Kings forwards were right at the center of the Olympics today as both Finland and Sweden got impressive wins, led by Los Angeles' forwards stealing the spotlight in Milano Cortina.
Finland won its second straight game after dropping the Group B opener to Slovakia, improving to 2-0-1, scorching Italy 11-0, and now allowing just one goal in its last two games. Sweden bounced back today after suffering a tough loss to Finland yesterday, defeating Slovakia 5-3, with Armia continuing his impressive point streak in three consecutive games.
Adrian Kempe Shines In Sweden's Victory
Adrian Kempe found the back of the net midway through the second period to break the tie and give Sweden the 2-1 lead.
Sweden got two goals from Elias Pettersson and three points from Lucas Raymond, but giving up a late goal to Slovakia dropped Sweden in the standings. Despite the win, Sweden sits in third place in Group B behind Finland and Slovakia due to its goal differential.
For Kempe, though it was his best game of the Olympics, thus far, finishing with 1 goal, 1 assist, and 2 points. As of now, Sweden sits third in Group B, tied with Finland and Slovakia at 2-0-1 with six points.
Joel Armia Makes History in Finland's 11-0 Statement
Joel Armia has been the most consistent offensive player for the Finns through three games of the tournament. In Finland's dominant 11-0 dismantling of Italy, Armia posted a multi-point game (1 goal, 1 assist) and was a big contribution to Finland's offensive explosion.
Armia is the only player to record this feat in all three tournament games for Finland, who would be the Kings' forward Armia.
The Finn skater has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 3 games, providing consistent offense for an already banged-up Finland team, which now looks very dangerous all of a sudden.
On a day when the standings were at stake because of Slovakia and Sweden's performance, Finland and Armia delivered exactly what was required: elite offense and defense.
Two Kings, Two Similar Paths
Both Kings' forwards stepped up today when it mattered most for Group B, and all of a sudden, both Sweden and Finland will look to see who will come out on top of this Group.
The next time we see our Kings represent the tournament will be tomorrow, with Drew Doughty and Darcy Kuemper representing Canada against France at 10:30 AM EST, looking to stay undefeated.
And unfortunately, Switzerland will be without Kevin Fiala for the rest of the tournament after suffering that scary leg injury yesterday, and is now ruled out of the entire Olympics, as Switzerland will take on Czechia tomorrow at 6:00 AM EST.
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