Team Canada secured a nail bitter 5-3 win over Team Finland on Monday afternoon to secure its spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final against Team USA on Thursday.
Going into the game, Canada was in a three-way tie with Finland and Sweden though the Red and White had the edge over the latter based on results. They had to win the game in regulation if they wished to get a rematch over the Americans to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/team-usa-edges-team-canada-3-1-in-an-instant-classic-at-the-4-nations-face-off" target="_blank" rel="noopener">right the wrongs of Saturday&#8217;s loss in Montreal</a>.
It took just over four minutes for Canada to take control of the matinee contest with two goals in 46 seconds. It started with Connor McDavid opening the scoring for the second straight game, as he stole the puck near the blueline, reloaded around the faceoff circle, and put a shot on that Kevin Lankinen had little chance to stop. On the next shift, Sam Reinhart corralled the puck in the neutral zone before feeding it to Nathan MacKinnon, who made no mistake off the rush.
Later in the first period, McDavid started an odd-man rush and sent the puck to a streaking Travis Sanheim who jumped into the rush and got a good shot off. Lankinen made the stop on that attempt but left a juicy rebound for Brayden Point to tuck in on the backhand and give Canada the insurance marker.
The score would hold up until early in the second period when Sidney Crosby applied heavy pressure on the forecheck to force a turnover and allow Reinhart to collect the puck in the corner. He spotted a wide-open MacKinnon who got one in off the slot to make it a 4-0 game and forced Finland to make a goalie switch.
Juuse Saros was excellent in relief as he stopped all 14 shots he faced and gave his team a fighting chance to keep its fleeting hopes alive going into the third period. And it ended up nearly paying off as Finland made a dramatic push in the final minutes of the third period to keep things interesting.
It started innocently enough with under seven minutes left as Esa Lindell forced a turnover in the offensive zone and got it back to snap Jordan Binnington&#8217;s shutout bid. Finland went on the aggressive by pulling their goalie and going with six forwards with just under five minutes left in regulation.
Finland was keeping Canada hemmed in their zone for lengthy stretches and got plenty of scoring chances off before Mikael Granlund fired home a one-timer in the slot to cut the deficit to two. He doubled dipped 23 seconds later in practically the same spot to make it a one-goal game with a little over a minute left. Just when it seemed Canada had lost control of the game, Crosby disrupted the pass and absorbed a hit from Granlund to prevent Finland from getting the puck in deep. Seconds later, Crosby got it back and fired it directly into the empty net from centre ice to seal the victory.
Finland deserves a lot of credit for refusing to give up even when the odds were stacked against them, and they almost pulled off a dramatic comeback that could have given themselves a fighting chance at sneaking into the Finals. Instead, time was their enemy and the large lead Canada had built up proved to be too much which is why they earned themselves a chance at redemption on Thursday.
The US and Sweden will complete the round-robin stage on Monday night with the puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. EST, though the results of that game don&#8217;t matter in the grand scheme of things.
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Team Canada secured a nail bitter 5-3 win over Team Finland on Monday afternoon to secure its spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final against Team USA on Thursday.

Going into the game, Canada was in a three-way tie with Finland and Sweden though the Red and White had the edge over the latter based on results. They had to win the game in regulation if they wished to get a rematch over the Americans to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/team-usa-edges-team-canada-3-1-in-an-instant-classic-at-the-4-nations-face-off" target="_blank" rel="noopener">right the wrongs of Saturday's loss in Montreal</a>.

It took just over four minutes for Canada to take control of the matinee contest with two goals in 46 seconds. It started with Connor McDavid opening the scoring for the second straight game, as he stole the puck near the blueline, reloaded around the faceoff circle, and put a shot on that Kevin Lankinen had little chance to stop. On the next shift, Sam Reinhart corralled the puck in the neutral zone before feeding it to Nathan MacKinnon, who made no mistake off the rush.

Later in the first period, McDavid started an odd-man rush and sent the puck to a streaking Travis Sanheim who jumped into the rush and got a good shot off. Lankinen made the stop on that attempt but left a juicy rebound for Brayden Point to tuck in on the backhand and give Canada the insurance marker.

The score would hold up until early in the second period when Sidney Crosby applied heavy pressure on the forecheck to force a turnover and allow Reinhart to collect the puck in the corner. He spotted a wide-open MacKinnon who got one in off the slot to make it a 4-0 game and forced Finland to make a goalie switch.

Juuse Saros was excellent in relief as he stopped all 14 shots he faced and gave his team a fighting chance to keep its fleeting hopes alive going into the third period. And it ended up nearly paying off as Finland made a dramatic push in the final minutes of the third period to keep things interesting.

It started innocently enough with under seven minutes left as Esa Lindell forced a turnover in the offensive zone and got it back to snap Jordan Binnington's shutout bid. Finland went on the aggressive by pulling their goalie and going with six forwards with just under five minutes left in regulation.

Finland was keeping Canada hemmed in their zone for lengthy stretches and got plenty of scoring chances off before Mikael Granlund fired home a one-timer in the slot to cut the deficit to two. He doubled dipped 23 seconds later in practically the same spot to make it a one-goal game with a little over a minute left. Just when it seemed Canada had lost control of the game, Crosby disrupted the pass and absorbed a hit from Granlund to prevent Finland from getting the puck in deep. Seconds later, Crosby got it back and fired it directly into the empty net from centre ice to seal the victory.

Finland deserves a lot of credit for refusing to give up even when the odds were stacked against them, and they almost pulled off a dramatic comeback that could have given themselves a fighting chance at sneaking into the Finals. Instead, time was their enemy and the large lead Canada had built up proved to be too much which is why they earned themselves a chance at redemption on Thursday.

The US and Sweden will complete the round-robin stage on Monday night with the puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. EST, though the results of that game don't matter in the grand scheme of things.
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Live</a> is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!

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Team Canada secures victory over Team Finland, advance to 4 Nations Face-Off final

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