Canada Dominates Finland 5-3, Advances Rematch with USA for 4 Nations Championship

Before getting into Canada vs. Finland, just a couple of quick points from Saturday since we weren’t able to get a full piece out after USA vs. Canada:

• That game Saturday Night very well could be one of, if not the best hockey game the sport has seen in a very long time. 
• It should go without saying at this point that this tournament has absolutely exceeded expectations and has done wonders for the sport of hockey on a larger scale.
• The first nine seconds of that USA/Canada game put to bed once and for all the idea that the players don’t care about this kind of thing. 
• We’ve thrown out a ton of mock trades and other ideas for the Rangers to improve their roster. I’d just like to say I would trade every single player up and down the depth charts if it meant bringing Brady Tkachuk to New York. He's exactly the type of player this franchise needs. Hopefully his new buddy in J.T. Miller can convince him to push for a trade here.

Now for today’s action; Canada vs. Finland may not sound like an enticing matchup on paper but given how this tournament has played out, this was as big a game as it gets. With Sweden, Canada and Finland all tied at two points going into the final day of round-robin play, a regulation win for either side would clinch a spot in the championship with the Americans. Overtime would give Sweden that same chance. 

1st Period:

• The Finns got off to a great start playing their traditional physical style of play while generating some offense in the process. Canada proceeded with caution in response to that but quickly rose to the occasion.
• Closing in on five minutes of play, Roope Hintz made an egregious error. If you had to pick one player in the entire sport to never turn the puck over to, there’s no question that player would be Connor McDavid. Low and behold, while attempting to break the puck out, Hintz turned it over to McDavid who seemingly came out of nowhere to intercept the misintended pass and took his time to find his shot. After letting it sail through some traffic on a tough angle, the puck went off the post and in to make it a 1-0 game. 

• Just 46 seconds later, some traffic in the neutral zone created some trouble for the Finns and an opportunity for Nathan MacKinnon. As Sam Reinhart was able to chip it ahead, MacKinnon took the puck straight to the net and beat Kevin Lankinen with a quick snapshot to extend Canada’s lead to 2-0. Finland would wisely call a timeout in attempts to slow the game back down. 

• To Finland’s credit, they got right back on the horse. They remained as calm, cool and collected as they could and nearing the midway point of the opening period, were beginning to spend a ton of meaningful shifts in Canada’s end of the ice. They were moving the puck well, getting some flashes of Sasha Barkov’s brilliance and were hungry on pucks to the point where the forechecker nearly knocked the puck out of Jordan Binnington’s control twice. 
• After Finland failed to take advantage of a couple defensive zone mistakes from the Canadiens, they were forced to try and defend against the McDavid line with their third pair on the ice. That went about as good as poorly as you could imagine as McDavid led the rush and passed it ahead to a pinching Travis Sanhiem. The defender's shot was stopped by Lankinen but Brayden Point was right there to put the rebound home, 3-0 Canada. 

• Canada took that 3-0 lead to the first intermission after out-shooting their opponents 11-5. On paper, it surely sounds like this game was on the brink of becoming a blowout but Finland was battling much more than it may sound. They did everything they could to put up a fight, they just couldn’t find the back of the net nor were they getting the type of contributions from their best players the way Canada was.

2nd Period: 

• The start of the second period was a good example of this game in a nutshell. A lengthy shift in Canada’s end of the ice with the Finns moving the puck well, almost controlling the puck then at the drop of the hat, a Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon picks it up and in the blink of an eye, is creating a chance off the rush the other way. 
• That ability to turn one shot on net into a surefire goal was becoming the difference maker in this game. Just over five minutes in, Sidney Crosby dished the puck out of the corner to his fellow Novascotian Nathan MacKinnon who let a quick one timer go that beat Lankinen and finally put an end to his night. Hindsight, I know Lankinen is having a great year and has been real solid in this tournament leading up to this, but I’m not sure how you leave Jusse Saros on the bench in a win or go home game like this. 4-0 Canada. 

• Nearing the midway point, Canada came close to extending their lead following a scramble in front but were able to fight it off. Going the other way with it, Mikael Granlund had one of the best chances of the game for his team but as has been the theme of the night, just could not find the back of the net. 
• As the period went on, Canada was beginning to have more dominance over the pace of play. Perhaps Finland was running out of gas or Canada was exhibiting who the more stacked team was. Either way, it was starting to feel like that fourth goal really put the fork in this one.  
• With four and a half to go in the second, the Finns got the first power play of the night as we finally had a penalty in this contest. It was Devon Toews getting sent off for tripping Joel Armia. 
• Despite some good looks, including another intense flurry in front of Binnington as the power play was coming to an end, the Finns were kept off the scoreboard and Canada took a 4-0 lead into the final period of regulation. Shots were much closer now as Finland out-shot Canada 12-8 throughout the second.

3rd Period:

• The third period felt more like a formality than anything else. If there was any chance of Finland making a game out of this, they needed to take at least one goal into the second intermission so at this point, it felt like they were just hoping to come out of this thing with at least one goal to show for. 
• Certainly wasn’t looking like that was going to be the case the way the first ten minutes of the third went. Canada was out-shooting Finland 5-3 and showed no signs that they were going to let up their game in the slightest.
• Finally, as Canada seemed to begin holding onto pucks and slowing the game down as time was growing shorter, the Finns got on the board. An outstanding little touch pass from Artturi Lehkonen set up Esa Lindell for a perfect shot from the bottom of the face-off circle went off the post and end to put his team on the board.

• With five minutes to go, the Finns pulled Saros for the extra attacker once they were able to maintain somewhat comfortable possession in Canada's end of the ice.
• Couple of hiccups aside, the Finns settled down and controlled possession for about three and a half minutes. Finally, after a one timer from Patrik Laine, another flurry broke out in front that allowed Granlund to send the puck to the back of the net to bring themselves within two with just under two minutes to go.
• Just 23 seconds later... Finland got right back to work and Sasha Barkov was able to find Mikael Granlund flying straight to the slot who let an absolute rip of a wrist shot beat Binnington to bring them within one. 4-3.

• Unfortunately, it would become too little too late. After what could've/should've been an icing call against the Canadiens, a big hit from Crosby at center ice allowed for him to send the puck into the empty net to seal the deal 5-3. A disappointing end to what had the makings of being an insane comeback for Finland.
• Stick taps for the Finns, they came into this tournament incredibly shorthanded on the back end with a number of defensemen having to pull out because of injuries. They gave it their best effort and may have fallen short to Canada but got their big win against the Swedes over the weekend. Mikael Granlund was without question one of their biggest standouts.
• All things considered, the Rangers' Urho Vaakanainen had a solid tournament. He played his quiet game, brought some physicality and did a good job of separating his opponents from the puck and chipping in offensively as much as he could. He's the type of player you won't hear about much during a game for the right reasons. He shows up, plays a steady game and does a good job of limiting errors.
• This outcome solidifies what many fans were expecting and hoping for, Canada will get a chance at a rematch with the United States in the 4-Nations Championship on Thursday Night.