Two European squads with add a new chapter to their intense rivalry will face off Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Sweden will play Finland in a 4 Nations Face-Off game starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.
ABC will air the game, which you can live stream on ESPN+, fubo TV (FREE trial) or DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount).
The United States and Canada will play the prime-time game Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, fubo TV (FREE trial) or DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount)).
There have been plenty of big, tense moments over the years between Sweden and Finland, and never were the stakes higher than at the gold-medal game at the 2006 Olympics. Sweden beat Finland 3-2 in a thriller after Nicklas Lidstrom scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Henrik Lundqvist made the most important save of his career on Olli Jokinen with 25 seconds left.
“I remember that game,” Sweden goaltender Samuel Ersson told The Associated Press. “And it feels like when we play each other, the whole country, they stop and you want to watch those games.”
And the players want to take part in them. Sam Hallam, who’s coaching Sweden at the NHL-run tournament, thinks the rivalry builds because by age 20, Swedes and Finns have already faced off in some form or fashion 20 to 25 times.
“You want to beat your brother,” he said Friday. “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.”
Sweden fans cheer on a goal during third period of 4 Nations Face-Off hockey action against Canada in Montreal, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)AP
Sweden is third in the 4 Nations Face-Off standings with one point it earned in a 4-3 overtime loss to Canada on Wednesday. Finland lost 6-1 to the U.S. on Thursday and will be eliminated from contention to be in the final if they lose to Sweden in regulation.
The tournament runs through Feb. 20.
Sweden is expected to have the same lineup it used against Canada, which means goalie Filip Gustavsson will start again after making 24 saves on 28 shots, including 19 on 21 after the first period, against Canada.
WATCH: ABC, or live stream on ESPN+, fubo TV (FREE trial) or DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount)
Sweden is expected to have the same lineup it used against Canada, which means goalie Filip Gustavsson will start again after making 24 saves on 28 shots, including 19 on 21 after the first period, against Canada.
The Finns will be making a goaltending change, going to Kevin Lankinen to start against Sweden after Juuse Saros allowed six goals on 32 shots, including four on 12 in the third period, in the loss to the United States.
Finland arguably should have been the goalie they turned to against the United States too considering the season he’s having with the Vancouver Canucks vs. how Saros has played for the Nashville Predators.
Lankinen is 19-8-7 with four shutouts, a 2.53 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage in 34 games (32 starts) this season.
He’ll need to come up with a big effort, especially early, to give the Fins a shot today.
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Publish date : 2025-02-15 06:57:00
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