Two Canucks took part in the Saturday afternoon game.
While many will see tonight’s Canada vs. USA matchup later tonight as the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament headliner, the game before it was nothing to ignore. In a big rivalry game between Team Sweden and Team Finland, Finland escaped with a 4–3 overtime win. Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen started in his first game of the tournament, making 20 saves on 23 shots. On the other side of the ice, Filip Gustavsson let in two goals before being replaced by Linus Ullmark, who made 15 stops on 16 shots against.
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The game started with some dominance from Sweden, resulting in Finland only registering their first shot of the game around halfway through the first period. Despite this, the score was tied 1–1 after Zibanejad and Lindell traded goals for their respective teams only two minutes between one-another. Sweden was somewhat undisciplined in the first period, as the team took two penalties — one of which led to Finland taking a 2–1 lead thanks to Mikko Rantanen. Despite their early possession, Sweden surrendered the game-winning goal in overtime, marking their second overtime loss of the tournament.
Two Canucks played in this matchup — Elias Pettersson (Sweden) and Lankinen (Finland). Pettersson played in Sweden’s previous game against Team Canada, while Lankinen suited up for the first time after Juuse Saros suffered a 6–1 loss to Team USA on Thursday night. Pettersson finished the game with 14:10 minutes played, which was the fifth-lowest of all players, but still has yet to register his first point of the tournament. He won four faceoffs and lost five, and logged a single shot on goal.
Unsurprisingly, Lankinen had a solid game, starting the extra frame off with a sharp pad save to keep his team in contention. He made another beautiful save behind his back that set the game-winning play into motion for Finland. With his performance tonight, it’s likely that he will get Finland’s next start.
With their win in overtime tonight, Finland is now tied with Sweden and Canada in the standings, all with two points so far. USA is currently in the lead with three. At this point, any of these four teams could end up playing in the championship game.
Fans don’t have to wait long for the tournament’s next game, as Team Canada and Team USA will face-off at 5:00 pm PT tonight. After this, all teams will travel to Boston for the final preliminary games, taking place on Monday, February 17. Canada and Finland will play at 10:00 am PT, while Sweden and USA will play at 5:00 pm PT.
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