Two players with ties to the New York Rangers who were participating in Saturday's afternoon play of the 4 Nations Face-Off scored goals. As a result, this is by far the best game the for the Rangers throughout the best-on-best tournament so far.
Two current Blueshirts and one former Ranger were all on the ice during the anticipated Finland versus Sweden matchup. Mika Zibanejad represented Sweden, with defenseman Urho Vaakanainen playing for Finland alongside recently traded Kaapo Kakko. Both Kakko and Zibanejad tallied points to help reach the final score of 4-3 in overtime.
The win resulted in Finland'd first win of the tournament. It was also significant in international history in that it was Finland’s first overtime goal in an NHL international tournament game, according to the league.
Zibanejad gave Sweden a 1-0 lead at 8:35 of the first period, scoring off a Finland defensive-zone turnover with a shot from between the circles.
A BEAUTY FROM MIKA. pic.twitter.com/eVkOFXTVxs
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 15, 2025
In fact, Zibanejad said scoring for Sweden felt more special than the usual goals he scores in a Rangers' jersey.
"I think every kid dreams about playing for their country and getting a chance to do so," Zibanejad said to the media postgame. "Being able to score a goal is obviously huge and its a special feeling and it's even more special than usual. It was fun."
TIE GAME AGAIN. KAAPO KAKKO 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ary8xsIctk
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 15, 2025
Originally credited with the goal, Kakko's point was eventually moved to be an assist — with the official ruling being that Aleksander Barkov scored off of former Ranger and current Seattle player Kaapo Kakko's stick blade and then went in off Barkov's stick blade.
Kakko was originally a healthy scratch against Team USA during Thursday's play.
Although he didn't register a point, Vaakanainen is also worth mentioning due to his 20 shifts including 12:20 TOI.
Up Next
The overtime win puts Finland in a tie for second in the 4 Nations Face-Off standings with Canada. Each team has two points on overtime wins going into North America's eagerly awaited Canada's game against the United States (Saturday, 8:00 p.m. EST; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).
While the Rangers do not have any players on Team Canada, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fox, Chris Kreider are all Blueshirts who are on the Team USA roster. The Rangers have the highest number of players on the Team USA roster with four.