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Granlund keeps Finland’s 4 Nations hope alive with overtime winner over Sweden
Mikael Granlund took the shot that kept this tournament from becoming the 3 Nations Face-Off.
MONTREAL — Mikael Granlund took the shot that kept this tournament from becoming the 3 Nations Face-Off.
With his sweeping wrister 1:49 into the overtime period of a thrilling game against Team Sweden, Granlund ensured Team Finland will be playing for something when they take on Team Canada Monday.
On Saturday, survival for the Suomi in this tournament was at stake. So was pride in this game against their most bitter rivals.
So much had been made of Finland’s decimated blue line in the lead up to these games. Even if they felt they’d be fine without Miro Heiskanen, Rasmus Ristolainen and Jani Hakanpaa, almost no one else thought they’d be — a reality reflected in the betting odds, which cast Finland as overwhelming underdogs here in Montreal.
A 6-1 loss to Team USA in the Finns’ first game Thursday only inspired more doubt.
Hockey Hall of Famer and Finnish legend Teemu Selanne watched that one live in Montreal and felt his side had much more to give in this one on Saturday.
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4 Nations Face-Off
With the inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off fast approaching, be sure to catch up on all the latest news about the highly anticipated best-on-best event. Puck drops on Feb. 12, 2025, on Sportsnet.
“I didn’t like the way we played that first game and felt everybody really needed to step up for this second one,” Selanne told Sportsnet. “We did that today, made it a great game, and then in overtime, anything could’ve happened. Happy we won, especially against Sweden. It means a lot.”
It meant relief for Granlund, who played 17:42 in this edge-of-your-seat contest between these great Nordic nations.
“It’s always great to beat Sweden,” he said after scoring the goal that sealed this 4-3 win. “Those games are fun to play. There’s so many people in Finland, in Sweden to watch these games. It’s great to come (out) on top, and at the same time, we are alive in this tournament. Everything is in our own hands. Good for us.”
“It just wasn’t our (afternoon),” said Team Sweden captain Viktor Hedman.
It started well for his side when Mika Zibanejad scored 8:35 into the first period, but it turned dramatically when Finland scored the second of two goals to make it 2-1 with 15 seconds to go in the frame.
Hope was briefly revived for the Swedes when Erik Karlsson helped wrestle back the lead in the 11th minute of the second period, but then it became fleeting when Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov finished a stunning play Olli Maata and Kappo Kakko started with 2:55 to play in the frame.
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That set up a trench war in the third period.
There were 13 chances — and several more slashes and hits exchanged — over those goalless 20 minutes.
Then, Granlund fired the kill shot in the second minute of overtime.
With it, he ended what Selanne said “was a great game to watch.”
Sweden’s Adrian Kempe predicted we’d see a “show on the ice.”
“It’s going to be a physical, intense game,” he said prior to puck drop. “It’s always tight games against Finland. Doesn’t matter what either lineup looks like, it’s always going to be tight. Everybody’s in for a good game. A good, tight and physical game.”
That’s what we got before Kempe rushed down the ice with the puck on his stick in overtime.
Granlund stopped him from cashing in on a great chance to score on Finnish goaltender Kevin Lankinen, and then he countered to beat Linus Ullmark, who had replaced an ailing Filip Gustavsson at the start of the second period.
Gustavsson allowed goals on two of four shots he faced in the first, Ullmark made 15 out of 17 saves through the rest of the game, and they were just two of the members of a devastated nation left feeling the sting of consecutive 4-3 overtime losses at this tournament.
“It’s the same kind of feelings you have after the Canada game as well,” said Ullmark. “Felt like we were right there, likely deserved to win. I feel we played a better game overall, but at the end of the day, it’s all about scoring more goals than the opponents and in this game, we didn’t. Nothing really more you can say about it. It’s always the same kind of feelings after a loss.”
Sweden’s coach, Sam Hallam, called it “very disappointing.”
It put their hopes in this tournament in serious jeopardy.
Finland’s were hanging by a thread going into that third period, but they overcame long odds to strengthen them.
Esa Lindell played nearly half the game to patch Finland’s beleaguered blue line up. Kakko, who was scratched from the loss to USA, worked his way up to the first line and came up with a huge play on the goal that made it 3-3. Patrik Laine, who was pushed down to Finland’s third line, made definitive ones on his team’s first two goals of the game.
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“He battled. He made plays. He was great,” said Barkov. “That’s the best Patrik Laine you can have.”
Without Lankinen stopping 21 of 24 shots, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Juuse Saros couldn’t stop more than 26 of USA’s 32 shots on Thursday, putting the pressure on Lankinen to deliver Saturday.
He did.
“It felt great, obviously,” he said. “These are the kind of opportunities that you dream of, right? You prepare so hard that whenever an opportunity shows up, you just go out and play. That was kind of my mindset (today). I felt better as the game went on, and obviously they got some great talent on the other side there, so I was happy that I was able to help the team win.”
