Urho Vaakanainen and Team Finland were eliminated from the Four Nations Faceoff after their defeat at the hands of Team Canada on Wednesday Afternoon. Now, Vaakanainen will return to the New York Rangers ahead of the resumption of the NHL season on Saturday. However, the Finnish defenseman was recalled by Team Suomi after injuries to Rasmus Ristolainen and Miro Heiskanen left them short on the Blueline, so how did he perform in a tournament he wasn't supposed to be in?
It's worth remembering that every game at this tournament featured NHL stars on every line, and the fight for places continued across forwards. Still, Vaakanainen tallied no points in his three games with Finland and had a -5 rating to match his production rate. However, +/- is everyone's favorite stat to hate on because it is useless, so take that with a grain of salt as we dive into why Finland's defense had such struggles.
Partnership
Neither Vaakanainen nor his defensive partner Nikolas Matinpalo got onto the scoresheet, and they were the only two Finnish defensemen who didn't. However, this is expected, considering they were the two call-ups to replace the injuries Finland had suffered on the Blueline on the eve of the tournament. Unsurprisingly, this was the outcome when these two traditional third-pairing NHL players were playing against a constant stream of stars on the international stage.
Ultimately, you cannot be surprised at Vaakanainen's tournament-worst -5 when he's playing at a level that is above him right now. Vaakaneinen is someone I've described most comfortable as a seventh defenseman. He can change games sometimes, but he can also cost you the game, so taking that risk isn't something you want to do too often. In this tournament, he's been devoured alongside his partner, which hasn't been their fault. They were in over their heads.