Not an incredible begin. Finland misplaced their opening recreation of the 4 Nations Face-Off to the US 6-1, putting them in sole possession of final place. The Finns hung in there for the primary two durations, really scoring the primary objective of the competition, however the People took management rapidly. What have been some takeaways for Finland?
Finland’s Lack of Puck-Transferring Protection Proves Detrimental
Miro Heiskanen went down with an damage for the Dallas Stars a few weeks earlier than the 4 Nations Face-Off. Dropping among the best defensemen within the sport on an already skinny blue line went about in addition to you’d suppose—under no circumstances.
Associated: Information to the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off
When taking a fast have a look at Finland’s protection, one factor stands out: the shortage of puck-movers. Anybody can restrict scoring alternatives throughout the defensive zone, however not anybody can come away with the puck and transfer it up the ice. Each group on this match has the ammo to do that fairly simply, aside from the Finns. The ultimate rating shouldn’t be surprising.
Now, Finland had some good exit sequences. One even led to their solely objective. The unlucky actuality, although, is that it’s fairly laborious to copy recurrently, given the expertise of their roster. The vast majority of the group struggled on this space, and nobody actually stood out positively.
FINLAND STRIKES FIRST!!! 🇫🇮
Henri Jokiharju opens the scoring! #4Nations | @BuffaloSabrespic.twitter.com/MXZiDfjUop
— NHL Community (@NHLNetwork) February 14, 2025
Even in a match with the very best of the very best, objectives are scored on the push fairly continuously. Creating in-zone alternatives is simpler when Auston Matthews is on the ice, complemented by Jack Hughes and Jake Guentzel, however rushes nonetheless dominate. Finland being unable to get going on this division shouldn’t be the fault of the teaching workers, neither is it an underperforming situation—they’re simply asking an excessive amount of from gamers who can’t fairly present what the group wants.
It’s necessary to notice that Finland was flat-out overwhelmed on this one, as puck-moving doesn’t account for 2 power-play objectives towards. Nonetheless, the US performed extra confidently on the forecheck as a result of the transition recreation from the Finns was non-existent. When a group can’t make you pay for taking part in aggressively on offense, you come at them like a freight prepare—the People understood the project.
Finland’s Particular Groups Will Want Work
The little issues add up. Finland’s energy play didn’t really feel threatening sufficient, so that they couldn’t reap the benefits of their two makes an attempt. On the flip facet, they sacrificed two objectives in 4 shorthanded conditions. Expertise gaps are minimized when a person is within the field, so dropping the particular groups battle 2-0 is one thing that can want work.
With their expertise limitations apart, Finland can management the way it performs when up or down a person. Their five-forward setup on the primary power-play unit made sense, however re-entering the zone was an entire nightmare on their first try as soon as they misplaced possession. When scoring chances are high laborious to come back by at 5-on-5, the facility play may also help compensate for that. Nevertheless it didn’t right here, and the Finns have been blown out.
The penalty kill, too, may’ve been higher. A protracted-range Matthew Tkachuk shot beat Juuse Saros, which is hardly the unit’s fault, however they’re working at 50%. It’s not just like the man within the web acquired a lot assist.
If Finland’s particular groups can merely be a push, which means they rating as a lot as they permit, some tighter video games towards Sweden and Canada could also be of their future. If not, simply overlook about it.
Finland Wants Higher Goaltending
Saros let six objectives previous him—it was not his brightest efficiency. Whether or not he’s between the pipes in Finland’s subsequent contest or not, the goaltending must be higher. Once more, there are limitations at 5-on-5, so it’s important to make up for it—the crease is a technique for this membership to do this.
Blaming Saros for the defeat could be foolish, as there’s solely a lot a goaltender can do, however he didn’t assist. An out-of-this-world goalie recreation can change a blowout into a decent contest, which is what the Finns needs to be striving for. They may actually use that enhance.
Saros has proven brilliance up to now, however his 2024-25 marketing campaign with the Nashville Predators has been one to overlook numbers-wise. Nonetheless, we have now seen him persistently take management of video games up to now. Whereas Finland might flip their consideration to Kevin Lankinen or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, it’s necessary to acknowledge Saros’ upside right here. This trio has expertise, however they need to present it.
Up subsequent, Finland will tackle Sweden at 1 p.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 15. It’s going to happen on the Bell Centre.
