Mika Zibanejad of Rangers scores for Sweden, but Finland wins 4-3 in overtime at 4 Nations
Mika Zibanejad gave Sweden an early lead against Finland on Saturday at the 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre in Montreal. But the goal by the New York Rangers forward 8:35 into the game wasn’t enough, as the Finns rallied for a 4-3 win on Mikael Granlund’s goal 1:49 into overtime.
The OT win gave Finland its first two points in the tournament after losing 6-1 to the United States on Thursday. Sweden got one point for its second straight overtime loss; the Swedes lost 4-3 in OT to Canada on Wednesday. The United States defeated Canada 3-1 on Saturday night and with six points is assured of making the championship game on Thursday.
The Finns play Canada at TD Garden in Boston on Monday afternoon; the U.S. plays Sweden on Monday night.
There were two New York Rangers in play, as Zibanejad faced off against defenseman Urho Vaakanainen of Finland. Former Rangers Kaapo Kakko and Niko Mikkola also played key roles for Finland. Kakko, who was a healthy scratch against the U.S., had the primary assist on Aleksander Barkov’s game-tying goal at 17:05 of the second period.
Mikkola had the only assist on Granlund’s game-winner, a shot from the right circle that went through the five-hole of Swedish goaltender Linus Ullmark.
“It’s always great to beat Sweden,” said Granlund, who was traded to the Dallas Stars by the San Jose Sharks two weeks ago. “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.”
Zibanejad got the scoring started for Sweden with his first goal of the tournament, was plus-1, won 10 of 12 face-offs and had six shots on goal in 21:00 of ice time.
“It was a game that we wanted to win,” Zibanejad said. “There were areas where we could have done better; quicker attacks before they got settled in their (defensive) zone, where they’re pretty strong and just try to clog up the middle.”
“They did a good job with that, and it’s not a surprise. I don’t think we did a good enough job in that sense
Rasmus Dahlin and Erik Karlsson also scored with goals for Sweden, while Joel Eriksson Ek, Lucas Raymond, and William Nylander each had assists. Filip Gustavsson made two saves on four shots before leaving after the first period because of illness. Ullmark replaced him and made 15 saves on 17 shots.
For Finland, Anton Lundell, Mikko Rantanen and Barkov scored goals in regulation before Granlund became the overtime hero. Patrik Laine had two assists; Eetu Luostarinen, Sebastian Aho, Olli Maatta, Kakko, and Mikkola each had one. Kevin Lankinen was solid in net, making 21 saves.
“I thought the chances they did get, we maybe were too aggressive, especially outside the (face-off) dots,” Zibanejad said. “We left a little too much room for them to counter and go the other way, and they have a good forward group. It was disappointing.”
Finland 4 – Sweden 3 (OT)
Zibanejad opened the game for Sweden, once again playing with Nylander and Rickard Rakell. Across the way for Finland, Vaakanainen slotted in on the third defense pair with Nikolas Matinpalo.
Sweden earned a power play less than three minutes into the opening period after Mikkola was sent off for hooking, but Zibanejad and the rest of the first power-play unit were unable to find the back of the net. Sweden controlled the majority of play, outshooting Finland 3-0 through the first seven minutes.
Zibanejad put the Swedes ahead 1-0 after Nylander stripped the puck from Barkov. It squeaked out to Zibanejad, who was alone in the high slot and rifled a shot past Gustavsson.
Finland tied it at 10:59 by cashing in on a 2-on-1 break. Florida Panthers teammates Lundell and Luostarinen came into the offensive zone and Luostarinen fed a cross-ice pass to Lundell, who went back across the grain and beat Gustavsson.
The Finns capitalized it on their first power-play opportunity to take at 2-1 lead with 14 seconds remining in the opening period. Rantanen scored with Swedish captain Victor Hedman off for tripping. He was open on the right circle and beat Gustavsson, putting Finland in front at intermission despite being outshot 8-4.
Sweden got off to a solid start in the second, as Gustav Forsling rang a shot off the crossbar. But Finland had the next four shots as Ullmark stood tall.
The Swedes evened the score at 2-2 at 5:06 when Dahlin, a defenseman, got to the front of the net to slam home a loose puck following Raymond’s shot. They went ahead at 10:32 when Karlsson joined the rush, took a pass from Nylander and beat Lankinen, giving Sweden a 3-2 lead.
But Finland’s patience paid off, and the Finns got even at 17:04 when Barkov deflected home a pass from Maatta. Kakko got the primary assist as the puck glanced off his stick before coming to Barkov.
Both teams took a cautious approach to the start of the third, both needing a win in the second of three round-robin games. After not much action through six minutes of play, Sweden was awarded a power play when Barkov was called for tripping.
Finland was able to kill off the penalty — and Barkov came out of the box for a breakaway only to be denied by Ullmark. A flurry of chances for Finland were denied by Ullmark as the third period progressed, and regulation time ended 3-3.
“He gave us a chance to win,” Zibanejad said.
Zibanejad won the opening face-off of overtime and got the puck to Raymond, who returned it to Zibanejad for a shot that nearly ended the game six seconds into the 10-minute period, but Lankinen came up big.
Granlund won it when he came up ice on a 2-on-1. He looked off the pass and beat Ullmark through the legs, earning Finland a crucial two points in the tournament standings.
“I finally shot one of those,” Granlund said. “I’m glad it went in. Obviously, it was a tight game all around. Great job for us.”
Zibanejad said Sweden has to focus on Monday’s game.
“I think we can attack a little more,” Zibanejad said when asked what his team can do better against the U.S. “I think we showed in that first game, and at times today, what we’re good at and what we have to do more of. We’ll talk about it tomorrow and get ready (for Monday).”
More About:New York Rangers News
Read This Next
