In a rivalry renewal, two New York Rangers will face off against on another in Finland versus Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Mika Zibanejad will represent the Rangers for Sweden, with Urho Vaakanainen being the lone Blueshirt on Finland's roster.
Both team's will be coming off a loss in prior games during the best-on-best tournament. Sweden and Zibanejad alike took a one goal loss in the first game of 4 Nation's, with a 4-3 overtime loss against Canada. Vaakanainen and the Finnish lost in a more brutal 6-1 fashion and gave up four goals in the final period against Team USA. Though, the game against Finland is nothing short of high-stakes with the teams looking at each other like brothers.
“It’s a brotherly kind of love-and-hate relationship going back for a long time,” said Sweden Head Coach Sam Hallam. “You want to beat your brother. That’s the way it is. We have tons of respect for the way they play the game, the character they have. That goes for hockey and that goes for life, too. Look at where they are on the map, and they never back down.”
Here's three keys to look out for ahead of Zibanejad and Vaakanainen facing off.
1. Finland Switching up the Goaltender
Coach Antti Pennanen said Finland needed a change after goaltenderJuuse Saros allowed six goals in his net against the U.S. in the team's opening game of the tournament Thursday. Instead, Vancouver's Kevin Lankinen will be starting in goal against Sweden.
Despite the previously mentioned meaningful matchup, Lankinen is approaching the Saturday afternoon matchup as usual.
"There's always pressure no matter who we play," Lankinen said. "So I just focus on my own game. It doesn't matter who we play. I'm just going to compete and do whatever I can."
2. 2014 World Junior Championship Rematch
Sweden's Elias Lindholm still thinks about losing to Finland in the the 2014 world junior championship final on home ice in Malmo. But he also agrees with rivals from Finland about how the dislike is contained on a sheet of ice between the boards and glass.
“You cross paths with a lot of Finns: Huge respect for them, but there’s always something there when we played against each other that had a little extra,” Lindholm said Friday. “You’re going to be competitive out there, and when the game is over, you can all enjoy and you can have a beer or whatever and be friends. But when it’s game time, it’s no friends.”
3. The First Period
How both teams play immediately following puck drop is not to be overlooked. Finland had a good start against the United States. It had a 1-0 lead on Henri Jokiharju's goal at 7:31 of the first period.
The same was not the case for Sweden against Canada, with the Swedes down 1-0 on Nathan MacKinnon's power-play goal a mere 56 seconds into the first period.
It'll be imperative for both team's to come out with high energy and a quick speed of play, which should make for an interesting 1:00 p.m. EST matchup.