Preview: Finland and USA face off for the second game of the Four Nations Tournament
Photo by Andre Ringuette/4NFO/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images
On the heels of an electric OT game between Canada and Sweden, Finland and the USA play their first game tonight. After an absolutely thrilling game between Canada and Sweden last night to open the Four Nations, Finland and the USA will take on each other tonight in the second game of this tournament of best-on-best hockey. We should be in for another exciting night of hockey!
Team Finland
It’s probably not exactly a secret at this point that Finland is kind of seen as the underdogs in this matchup by some, simply because of the firepower that they’re going up against tonight when they take on the USA.
That being said, there’s certainly no shortage of talent on this roster, with one of arguably the best defensive forwards in the league, Aleksander Barkov, leading the charge. Artturi Lehkonen will play tonight, too, of course, and hopefully, his ability to consistently score clutch goals can help Finland here tonight.
Projected Lineup
Artturi Lehkonen - Aleksander Barkov - Mikko RantanenRoope Hintz - Sebastian Aho - Patrik LaineEetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Mikael GranlundTeuvo Teravainen - Erik Haula - Joel Armia
Niko Mikkola - Esa LindellUrho Vaakanainen - Nikolas MatinpaloOlli Maatta - Henri Jokiharju
Team USA
As previously mentioned, this USA roster has no shortage of firepower on it. Similarly to team Canada, this is not a team that you want to get into a track meet with whatsoever, as you’ll likely lose that track meet with players like Auston Matthews on their roster who can score from virtually anywhere on the ice.
Their goaltending lineup is no small test either, and with the likes of Connor Hellebuyck as a part of this tandem, getting to the front of the net and scoring from there will likely be a requirement for Finland to be successful against this USA team here tonight.
Projected Lineup
Kyle Connor - Jack Eichel - Matthew TkachukJake Guentzel - Auston Matthews - Jack HughesBrady Tkachuk - J.T. Miller - Matt BoldyBrock Nelson - Vincent Trocheck - Dylan Larkin
Zach Werenski - Charlie McAvoyJaccob Slavin - Adam FoxNoah Hanifin - Brock Faber
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