With both of these teams defeating Sweden, a regulation win for either of them would mean facing off (pun intended) against the United States in the championship round. The favorites showed up in this one, as Canada knocked off Finland in a 5-3 decision.
Just 46 seconds apart, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon got on the board for Canada in the opening frame. Brayden Point added another, quickly putting this one in blowout territory. The second and third periods were a bit calmer for the most part, as MacKinnon struck at the 5:03 mark in the second and Finland’s Esa Lindell took approximately 28 minutes to respond.
Related: Guide to the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off
Out of nowhere, Mikael Granlund buried back-to-back goals with Finland in empty-net mode to make it 4-3, scoring twice in 23 seconds. The fun stopped there, though, as Sidney Crosby slid one into the yawning cage with 56 seconds to go. A quick recap aside, what were some takeaways for both nations?
Canada: Easy Entries, Easy Goals
There was no Jaccob Slavin to stop them in this one. In the first period, Canada had no trouble crossing Finland’s blue line, which led to utter domination in time of possession, scoring chances, and of course, goals. The Canadians suffocated their Finnish counterparts early in the game—a Herculean effort would’ve been needed to bounce back.
In their sole defeat of the round-robin, Canada actually had an obstacle for not just entering the offensive zone, but creating chances there. Slavin wasn’t their only challenge, mind you, but a presence like his would be greatly appreciated in Finland. Instead, they’ve been playing without superstar Miro Heiskanen, top-four piece Rasmus Ristolainen, and depth contributor Jani Hakanpaa. Half your defense being out with injuries will pose a slight problem, oftentimes.
Still, the Canadians deserve their flowers. The United States defeated Finland 6-1 through aggressive forechecking and power-play excellence. It took until the third period for the floodgates to open, however, as it was a 2-1 score after two frames. Canada instantly recognized their talent advantage over Finland, so there was never much of a doubt in the final result. The empty-net sequence was their only flaw.
Finland: Goaltending Conundrum?
Overdramatic? Possibly, but Finland’s most consistent issue aside from their defensive zone play has been goaltending. Juuse Saros…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…