Seattle Kraken's Eeli Tolvanen notched Finland's lone goal while being a physical force, and Kaapo Kakko impressed throughout as Finland dropped their tournament opener 4-1 to Slovakia.
The 2026 Olympics are finally underway, and the tournament kicked off with a thrilling matchup between Finland and Slovakia.
Team Finland rosters two Seattle Kraken representatives, Eeli Tolvanen and Kaapo Kakko, both of whom were impressive in the Olympic opener. Ultimately, Slovakia prevailed, defeating Finland 4-1.
Slovakia got the scoring started, as Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky intercepted a pass and scored a highlight-reel goal.
Tolvanen and Finland responded to tie the game. With a power play just expiring, Tolvanen found himself wide open at the back door and one-timed a pass from Joel Armia.
Although Tolvanen was playing on the fourth line, he found himself on the second power play unit. Outside of his goal, Tolvanen was engaged physically from the get-go, throwing big hits whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Kakko was unable to get on the scoresheet, but he and his line, consisting of Florida Panthers’ Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, were Finland’s best line. They controlled the play and created numerous chances. Kakko rang a shot off the post from a sharp angle for his best opportunity, but he had several chances to score.
Finland has several issues they need to address before their next game against Sweden on Friday.
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