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4 Nations: Patrik Laine shines in a big victory for Finland
Félix Forget
4 Nations: Patrik Laine shines in a big victory for Finland
Credit: After a day off at the 4 Nations Showdown, the action resumed today. Before the Canada/USA duel in the evening, the Bell Centre was the venue for a match between Sweden and Finland. On the Finnish side, Joel Armia was left out, while Patrik Laine was demoted to the third line. Here are the lineups […]
After a day off at the 4 Nations Showdown, the action resumed today. Before the Canada/USA duel in the evening, the Bell Centre was the venue for a match between Sweden and Finland.

On the Finnish side, Joel Armia was left out, while Patrik Laine was demoted to the third line.

Here are the lineups for both teams:

In the early minutes of the game, the Finns struggled to create scoring opportunities. It took about ten minutes before the team registered its first shot…

And more importantly, it allowed the Swedes to open the scoring even before the Finns recorded a single shot. Mika Zibanejad scored the first goal of the match.

The Finnish team, however, found its rhythm shortly after. In fact, it took just over two minutes to respond, courtesy of Anton Lundell.

Patrik Laine collected an assist on this goal.

Then, just before heading to the locker room, the Finns took the lead with a goal from Mikko Rantanen on the power play.

For the second time, Laine collected an assist, this time with a clever pass.

After 20 minutes, the score was 2-1 in favor of Finland… and Linus Ullmark replaced Filip Gustavsson in the Swedish net to start the second period.

This seemingly revitalized Sweden, which tied the game a few minutes later.

Rasmus Dahlin, who found himself next to the Finnish net, pounced on a rebound.

Then, after Dahlin, another Swedish defenseman found the net: Erik Karlsson reclaimed the lead for his team.

And he did it with a big league shot.

However, before the end of the period, Finland made sure to stay in the game. The team captain, Aleksander Barkov, found the net.

This goal was reminiscent of Dahlin’s earlier in the same period.

After 40 minutes, the score was 3-3.

In the third, both teams attempted to take the lead… and things got pretty heated between the two teams.

Even Patrik Laine got caught up in the fray… and we know that’s not his usual demeanor.

But in the end, no team managed to regain the lead during this third period.

Thus, overtime was needed.

For the second time in two games, Sweden found itself in overtime… and for the second time in two games, Sweden lost in overtime.

This time, it was Mikael Granlund who scored the game-winning goal.

Final score: 4-3 Finland (OT)

The tournament continues tonight, as Canada and the USA will face off in one of the most anticipated matchups in a long time. This will take place at 8 PM tonight.


Overtime

– We witnessed a fiercely contested match between the two Scandinavian teams this afternoon. The rivalry between the two countries resulted in a great duel on the ice.

– In the third period, Artturi Lehkonen, Teuvo Teravainen, and Erik Haula were benched for Finland. It is quite unusual to see a player like Lehkonen benched, but with Finland playing for its survival in the tournament, they had to try different things.

– Patrik Laine found a way to leave his mark on this game… but the one known for his scoring prowess mainly did so by showcasing his playmaking skills today. This may help him regain confidence… and not just rely on his shot to help the CH win games.

– Nice moment.

– Following this match, here is the tournament standings. All four teams are still in the running.

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