Sweden-Finland 4 Nations preview: A rivalry with much more than national pride on the line

MONTREAL — Teemu Selänne was having coffee and breakfast during a quiet moment at the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday morning when he was asked for his recollection of probably the biggest game between Sweden and Finland that ever was played: the 2006 Olympic final between the longtime Nordic rivals.

“Oof,” Selänne responded. “I don’t really remember that one.”

And then he laughed. Of course he remembers. Everyone in his country remembers.

Finland was perfect in the round-robin portion of the tournament, defeating Canada 2-0 and beating the USA and Russia to reach the gold medal game against Sweden. Selänne was the tournament’s leading scorer.

“The whole country, we all knew how badly they wanted us to win,” Selänne said. “It was so close, and for me at least, it was the best national team I ever played on. That’s the only game we lost there. We beat all the big ones. And when all the best players are participating and you feel you’re the best team in the tournament, it’s a big thing.

“Obviously, it was a huge disappointment we couldn’t win the final, but if someone had told us before the tournament that you guys are going to win the silver, I think most of the guys would probably take it.”

For the third time since that game in Turin, Italy, back in 2006 but the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Finland will meet Sweden in a best-on-best setting Saturday at the 4 Nations.

Sweden has won the last three meetings, lending credence to how the rivalry is often described by Swedes, usually with a little grin, as a case of big brother against little brother. The grin is a giveaway as to who the big brother is.

But Selänne doesn’t necessarily disagree with the characterization.

“They’ve always had the edge, and that’s why we always want to beat them so badly, because that’s how a family goes,” he said. “The little brother tries to beat the big brother.”

Finland forward Mikko Rantanen remembers that 2006 Olympic final vividly. He was 9 years old, sitting at home, riveted to his television.

“It was a tight game. Finland had the lead at first, and I remember, first shift of the third, (Nicklas) Lidström scored, and that ended up being the game winner,” Rantanen said Friday after practice. “I remember Teppo Numminen gave an interview afterward — I think I was crying at home while he gave it. It was emotional.”

This game is not just another game. It has profound meaning based on a long history between the hockey powers.

But nostalgia and history have little bearing on what will happen on the ice Saturday at Bell Centre, so let’s focus on these teams in the present and what Sweden and Finland need to do to come out on the winning end. Considering the loser will essentially be eliminated from the tournament, a lot more than national pride is on the line.

Sweden: A more composed start and getting more from the stars

Sweden captain Victor Hedman knows the Sweden-Finland showdown will start much better for his team than it did against Canada. Before the puck dropped on Sweden’s 4-3 overtime loss, the Canadians had a surge of Bell Centre’s signature electricity from a surprising source: Mario Lemieux.

From what Hedman understands, Le Magnifique is not planning on a repeat appearance before Sweden-Finland on Saturday.

“No Mario on the ice to start the game,” Hedman said Friday, laughing. “Keep Mario off the ice, and don’t take a penalty.”

Hedman was referring to how William Nylander high-sticked Nathan MacKinnon just 44 seconds into the game, compounding Canada’s rush of energy. Before the Swedes had caught their breath, Canada’s bananas top power-play unit had snapped the puck around until MacKinnon drained a Sidney Crosby cross-crease dish.

Stress hurts, even for experienced players such as the Swedes.

“Forty-five, 50 minutes was really solid,” Adrian Kempe said. “We talked about it. You have that kind of nervous feeling going into the first game. After that, we just kind of relaxed, went out there and played.”

Sweden is not disrespecting Finland. Whenever the two neighbors go head to head, skill sometimes becomes secondary to will.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun, for sure,” Filip Forsberg said. “Obviously, a rivalry that goes back to medieval times, pretty much.”

It is no disrespect, however, to acknowledge that Sweden’s roster has the upper hand over Finland’s. It was telling, for example, that Sweden’s No. 3 line of Jesper Bratt, Joel Eriksson Ek and Lucas Raymond might have been its best unit against Canada.

The smart and dependable Eriksson Ek scored one of Sweden’s three goals off a set faceoff play that he triggered by beating Anthony Cirelli on the draw. Moments later, Raymond made the most important move by circling high with the puck and executing a seam pass to Bratt inside the left faceoff dot. After receiving Bratt’s slot-line pass, Eriksson Ek dunked the puck past a helpless Jordan Binnington.

“Super dynamic,” Bratt said of his third-line mate. “Such a smooth skater. Becomes an offensive threat every time he’s on the ice. He’s a guy that can get the puck wherever on the ice and he’ll make something happen out of it. He’s so dynamic. Really fun player to play with. I think our chemistry is going to get better and better the more this tournament moves on.”

WE’RE TIED 🪢

Raymond, Bratt and Eriksson Ek connect for a beauty! #4Nations

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The problem with Sweden, however, is that the third line should not be generating most of the club’s chances against Finland. The Swedes are counting on Mika Zibanejad and Elias Pettersson, their top two centers, to drive the offense on both of their lines. Neither did enough of it against the Canadians. They were like they’ve been for their NHL clubs: good, not great, and leaving their bosses wanting more.

Zibanejad had two shots, both in overtime. Pettersson had one shot: a 90-footer from the neutral zone.

It got to a point where Sweden coach Sam Hallam switched the first and second lines in the third period. Pettersson and Forsberg, who started on the No. 2 line, moved up to the first with Nylander in the third period. Zibanejad and Rickard Rakell moved down with Kempe.

Zibanejad was back to centering the top line between Rakell and Nylander at practice Friday. Pettersson was with Kempe and Forsberg.

For the Swedes to take care of business against the Finns, their first- and second-line centers have to be harder on pucks and more in the middle of the action in the offensive zone. Defensively, Hallam was satisfied with both of their performances.

“I want them to be solid,” Hallam said. “I want them to do what they did starting the game against Canada, playing smart hockey. It’s tight. Because you’re playing five really good players, there’s not much room out there. I would say it’s a team thing. Who has the best touches, who has less touches doesn’t really matter.”

If the lines stay together, it will be Zibanejad’s job to place the puck on Nylander’s stick. The right wing has the highest degree of game-breaking touch on the roster. Nylander led Sweden with nine shot attempts against the Canadians. None broke through.

“I think he has one more step in him. Definitely,” Hallam said. “For a lot of our guys, we grew as a team; we grew as a group. But we still think we have one more step to take here, hopefully, for Saturday. If you just recognize the start to the game — really unlucky penalty, and they score a goal straight away. You can’t start playing the game uphill. As long as the game went, he looked more and more secure, confident. Hopefully, we can make sure to give him the puck in the right situations even more on Saturday.”

Finland: A goalie change, a return to its identity and a simplified approach

Finland coach Antti Pennanen’s easiest adjustment from his team’s 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Americans on Thursday came in goal. Juuse Saros is out; Kevin Lankinen is in.

Had Finland gone simply on merit, Lankinen probably would have started against the USA as well since he is having by far the better season. But these decisions are not always solely merit-based; there is some calculated risk involved based on track record. Saros got the opportunity he deserved based on his track record, but now it’s Lankinen’s net to lose.

“It would be a dream come true,” Lankinen said Friday before Pennanen announced the goalie change. “Obviously, not just playing for your home country, but in a tournament like this, where you’ve got all the best players in the world, it’s a special occasion. … For sure, it would be a dream come true.”

But Finland’s loss to the Americans was not only about goaltending. It was perhaps even more so about converting the chances Finland was able to create with the score tied at 1 in the second period.

“I think (we created those chances) whenever we played fast with speed, trying to go forward, go north right away and not take the puck back too much,” Finland center Anton Lundell said Friday. “It’s a hard game. Whenever you have a chance to attack, you attack.”

Rantanen and Pennanen acknowledged that Finland did not have enough of a shooting mentality when it created those chances, with Pennanen specifically pointing out a two-on-one break when Sebastian Aho tried a saucer pass to Roope Hintz that didn’t connect. Pennanen would have preferred Aho shoot the puck in that situation — or any situation, really, since he and Hintz had no shots on goal.

“Maybe we were over-passing a little bit yesterday,” Rantanen said. “Obviously, things happen quick in the game, but if you execute (those passes), they’re probably in the back of the net. It’s always easy after to say you should have shot when you try to make a play in that moment, but yeah, I think it’s better for us if we simplify a little offensively, get pucks to the net more and crash the net a little bit more.”

Pennanen mentioned on multiple occasions that Finland’s breakouts needed to improve, stating it needed to move up the ice as a unit of five and be less disjointed than it was at times against the USA.

“We had a good meeting with the players, and I spoke with the captains, and we’re on the same page,” Pennanen said. “We need to develop our breakouts a little bit.”

But at its core, Finland’s national hockey identity is based on playing a patient game built around strong puck management, defensive structure and patience. Play a stifling structured game long enough, frustrate your opponent into making mistakes, and pounce on those mistakes when they come.

This Finland team is no different, and Rantanen thinks his team might have gotten away from that identity a bit against the USA and will need to find it against Sweden.

“A couple of turnovers, and they had some time in front of the net where they scored a couple of goals,” Rantanen said. “But I think overall, the turnovers, if we put that number down and play behind their D a little bit more, make their D break it out more, I think that’s going to help us overall.”

From a lineup perspective, defenseman Juuso Välimäki said he expects to be a healthy scratch for a second straight game, so there should be no changes to Finland’s injury-ravaged blue line, a tacit endorsement from Pennanen that the group performed well against the USA.

Up front, however, Kaapo Kakko might enter the lineup after being scratched against the Americans. Who would come out was not clear at Finland’s practice Friday, nor was it clear what kind of line changes Pennanen might make. The line of Aho, Hintz and Patrik Laine generated only one shot on goal, so a change there would not be surprising, but considering the only goal Finland scored came off a less-than-dangerous shot off the stick of defenseman Henri Jokiharju, more wholesale changes up front could also be warranted.

But when little brother goes up against big brother, sometimes tactics and personnel become a bit less important.

“I wouldn’t say I hate Sweden,” Rantanen said. “They have good candy, good chocolate, good meatballs. So I don’t hate Sweden, but the rivalry in hockey, I’m not sure if it’s hate, but it’s big for sure.”

(Top photos of Mikko Rantanen and William Nylander: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)