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New York Times
17-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Juuse Saros was perfect. Kevin Lankinen was not. Finland is out at 4 Nations Face-Off
BOSTON — At 5:03 of Monday's second period, Finland coach Antti Pennanen turned to his right and caught the eye of Juuse Saros. Pennanen signaled to his backup goalie to get in the net. Pennanen, it appeared, had seen enough of Kevin Lankinen. Four goals allowed to Canada on 13 shots will do that to you in a go-or-go-home showdown. Advertisement As for the timing of the switch, Pennanen did not have a clear answer. 'Hard to say,' Pennanen answered after the 5-3 tournament-ending loss when asked why he pulled Lankinen for Saros. 'Afterwards, it's easy to say the reason for it. Juice was really good. But, yeah, hard to say afterwards.' Finland, in retrospect, had started the wrong goalie. Lankinen got no help from his teammates early. Roope Hintz's defensive-zone giveaway in the first period — to Connor McDavid, of all players — triggered the breakdown that led to Canada's first goal. Lankinen could not pick up McDavid's release through three bodies: Nikolas Matinpalo, Hintz and Mark Stone. Nathan MacKinnon made it a 2-0 game by receiving a chip from Sam Reinhart, darting inside the right faceoff dot and snapping the puck over Lankinen. Brayden Point gave Canada a 3-0 first-period lead after burying the rebound of a Travis Sanheim shot off the rush. The Finns were in no position to get into a speed game against the Canadians. As for the fourth and final goal, Urho Vaakanainen coughed up the puck below the goal line, which gave Sidney Crosby options in the right corner. Every goalie starts shivering when Crosby has the puck in such situations. Lankinen, as he should have, dropped into reverse vertical-horizontal to take away the strong-side post. When Crosby executed a pass-out to MacKinnon inside the right dot, Lankinen tried to get over to his right. Not many goalies can do so against MacKinnon's one-timer. Three of the four goals, then, were no-chancers for Lankinen. He left a dangerous rebound out front for Point to bury. But that was after Sanheim jumped up in the rush. Lankinen had to make a reactionary stop on the Canadian defenseman. He could not steer the rebound out of danger. GO DEEPER 4 Nations takeaways: How Canada beat Finland to reach the final vs. USA Lankinen, however, is short on pedigree. He signed a one-year, $875,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks, primarily to serve as Thatcher Demko's backup. Demko's poor health has opened the door for the 29-year-old to make 34 appearances, three short of his career high. Saros is more used to taking a star turn. Advertisement The 29-year-old is in his fourth season of being the Nashville Predators' No. 1 goalie. In fact, Lankinen was Saros' backup for the two previous seasons. In 2025-26, Saros will be in the first season of an eight-year, $61.92 million contract. It is a fair bounty considering Saros' multi-year history of game-saving play. He is a two-time All-Star. In 2022-23, Linus Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy. According to Clear Sight Analytics, Saros should have been the winner because of his league-high 37.86 goals saved above expectation. Against Canada, Saros responded after his mid-stream arrival by stopping all 14 shots he saw. At 13:50 of the second, with his team down 4-0, Saros was out of his crease, square and composed for an 11-foot Grade-A Crosby opportunity. It was the kind of goal-saving stop Saros is capable of making and why Pennanen began the 4 Nations Face-Off with him as his starter. It is no credit to Saros, then, that he forced his coach's hand with a 6-1 tournament-opening loss to Team USA. Saros was leaky. Lankinen responded with an overtime win over Sweden. It's been that kind of season for Saros with Nashville. He has an .899 save percentage in 41 appearances. The Predators are out of the playoff picture. But given the mismatch in star power between Finland and Canada, Saros could have been a difference-maker. With Saros standing tall, the Finns scraped back late. Esa Lindell started the comeback at 13:19 of the third. Then with Saros off for a sixth attacker, Mikael Granlund pumped two pucks past Jordan Binnington to make it a 4-3 game. In both six-on-five situations, the Finns rolled all forwards: Granlund, Hintz, Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine. Finland's blue line was its weakness. Its grinding and relentless forwards pulled them back within a goal. Advertisement 'Everybody said you're not going to win any games,' said Laine, who set up Granlund's first goal. 'Seen that even from the Finnish media who said that we're not going to win any games. I think it was a tournament for us where we're going to prove we can compete against anybody most times and show we can play against these guys. But at the end of the day, we were only able to win one game. We're not in the finals. So who cares? But I think it's a good stepping point to the Olympics to see where we're at as a country and as individuals. Everybody needs to see what they need to work on.' (Photo of Mark Stone celebrating a Canada goal against Kevin Lankinen: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
New York Times
16-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Meet Antti Pennanen, the under-the-radar coach pulling all the right strings for Finland
MONTREAL — On the opening day of the 4 Nations Face-Off, as all four teams practiced in suburban Montreal on Monday, Finland was the last team to take the ice. Well, actually, it was only half the team. Finland coach Antti Pennanen decided to make it an optional skate, and then took the option himself, not jumping on the ice with the 11 skaters and two goalies who decided to get their legs going. The optional skate was light, less than 30 minutes, and Pennanen calmly explained Monday was a recovery day. Advertisement 'We wanted to save energy for the games,' he said. After Finland's morning skate on Thursday, which Pennanen also skipped, he decided not to come to his post-practice news conference, choosing instead to address the media at 5 p.m., and then showing up to do so at 5:30. We should have known this guy would not be intimidated by this stage, despite the fact he has spent his entire career coaching in Finland, he played only five games in Finland's top professional league. He arrived at this tournament in Montreal coming off a humiliating playoff defeat in the first round of the Liiga playoffs last season as head coach of league power Ilves, one where he took heavy criticism for skipping the handshake line after the clinching Game 5 loss. Then he coached Finland to a 6-1 loss in their opening game of the tournament. To say the pressure on Pennanen entering Saturday's must-win game against arch-rival Sweden was enormous would be an understatement. For a man who has never coached NHL players, Pennanen did not back down, did not wilt under that pressure, and stuck to his coaching convictions. He didn't panic over the 6-1 loss, he knew Finland did a lot of good things over the first 40 minutes against the USA, but he put his fingerprints all over this game against Sweden. He scratched Joel Armia, who has always shined for Finland in nearly 100 national team games, and replaced him with Kaapo Kakko. When he saw Kakko get off to a good start, Pennanen moved him onto the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen and benched NHL veterans, and Stanley Cup champions, Artturi Lehkonen and Teuvo Teräväinen in the third period and overtime. He stuck with Finland's unheralded defense, scratching Juuso Välimäki for a second straight game while keeping last-minute injury replacement Nikolas Matinpalo — who is not even a full-time NHLer with the Ottawa Senators and wondered whether he would be sent down to the AHL to get some games in during the tournament. He sat Juuse Saros and started Kevin Lankinen in goal. He moved Patrik Laine onto a line with Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell. He moved Roope Hintz from the wing to center. Advertisement It's a long list of changes. And it worked. All of it. Everything Pennanen touched turned to gold, and now Finland remains alive in the 4 Nations tournament and has a chance to play in the final. For someone dealing with NHL players for the first time, Pennanen has delivered. 'Of course, I'm excited, that's for sure,' Pennanen said after Finland's 4-3 overtime win Saturday. 'I know most of those players, I have coached them before, and they have been amazing, highly committed for the Finnish national team. That's helped me a lot. Nothing special, actually. I just coach them.' Nothing special? This isn't special? 'Of course it's special and I'm excited,' he said. 'But I coach like I coach.' Managing personalities at events like this is one of the biggest challenges a coach can face, and that's true of a veteran NHL coach, let alone this guy. But Pennanen is unique. In addition to being the full-time coach of the Finnish national team, Pennanen has also worked as a therapist for the last year. So perhaps managing personalities and pulling strings is in his wheelhouse. Prior to the tournament, knowing how badly Laine had been struggling with the Montreal Canadiens, coming into the tournament on an eight-game pointless streak, Pennanen had a one-on-one conversation with the mercurial scoring star. They had that conversation on Monday, the day of that optional practice, but it didn't seem to have an impact on Laine's play in the opener against the U.S., with Pennanen calling his performance in that game 'pretty okay.' Laine had two assists against Sweden and looked dangerous on his new line. 'He was really good today,' Pennanen said. 'Every time he has been part of the Finnish national team, he has played good games, and also here at 4 Nations. I liked what I saw today, and for me it seems like he is highly excited and he has more confidence. A lot of good things happen for him now.' Advertisement While Pennanen does have history with some of the Finnish players — overtime hero Granlund had Pennanen as an assistant when he played for Liiga team IFK in 2011-12 – most of the core of this team did not know him before this tournament. Barkov, for example, met him for the first time last summer over a chat about this tournament. 'He's a smart coach, we know how successful he is throughout his career in Finland, on junior national teams he's been successful,' Barkov said. 'He's a really good guy, a good communicator and really gets us going. Good for him.' Perhaps the most consequential decision Pennanen made was to start Lankinen in goal. Based on how Saros and Lankinen have played in the NHL this season, perhaps Pennanen's decision to go with Saros on Thursday could be viewed as a mistake, but it should be looked upon as a calculated risk. If Saros were to find his form from the last three seasons, it might have been enough to lead Finland to a tournament win. It was absolutely possible Saros would catch fire. But Pennanen did not give him an overly long leash, and Lankinen made as important a play in overtime against Sweden as Granlund did, stopping a Mika Zibanejad chance with his toe in the opening seconds. BIG STOP LANKINEN TO START OT❗️ — Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 15, 2025 'These are the kind of opportunities that you dream of, right?' Lankinen said. 'You prepare so hard that whenever an opportunity shows up, you just go out and play. That was kind of my mindset tonight. I felt better as the game went on, and obviously they've got some great talent on the other side there, so I was happy that I was able to help the team win.' Now, Finland has a chance to control its own destiny. A regulation-time win against Canada on Monday should get Finland into the championship game. 'Now it's in our own hands,' Rantanen said, 'if we can prepare well and try to beat Canada.' When it comes to preparing well and adjusting between games, Finland gave a master class on Saturday. And their unheralded, previously anonymous coach was at the head of the class.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kevin Lankinen to replace Juuse Saros in goal for Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off vs. Sweden
MONTREAL (AP) — Kevin Lankinen will start in net for Finland against Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday after Juuse Saros allowed six goals on 32 shots in a 6-1 loss to the United States in each team's tournament opener, coach Antti Pennanen said. 'We have three good goalies,' Pennanen said after practice Friday. 'It's a good situation for us. Juuse, I think he was really good the first 40 minutes, but 6-1, so we need to do something. And Kevin, he has played good games lately, so that was behind that decision.' Saros' struggles stretched into the 4 Nations from his rough half-season-plus in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. The 29-year-old has lost 29 of his 41 starts, ranks 38th among goalies with a 2.95 goals-against average 33rd with an .899 save percentage. Asked how he would evaluate his performance against the U.S., Saros said: 'Obviously you always want to help your team even more on games like that.' Saros' new, eight-year, $61.92 million contract does not even kick in until next season. Lankinen is 19-8-7 for the Vancouver Canucks with a 2.53 GAA and a .905 save percentage, making just above the league minimum at $875,000. A late bloomer who was never drafted, he grinded through minor leagues in Finland and North America before breaking through. 'I feel like there's still more — a lot more — to accomplish, so many more levels to step up to, and I feel like every single season so far has been good progress,' Lankinen said. 'Some of the pieces are coming together, but at the same time I recognize there is so much more to achieve.' Pennanen hinted at making other lineup changes after scratching Kaapo Kakko and Juuso Valimaki on Thursday night but would not reveal much. Valimaki said he was not playing. 'Could be, but tomorrow you will know about those,' Pennanen said. "Again, 6-1, I think you need to do something but I know more exactly tomorrow, and those changes are public tomorrow.' Canada's Makar sick No. 1 defenseman Cale Makar should play for Canada against the U.S. on Saturday night after missing practice with an illness. 'Expect is a big word, but I'm confident," coach Jon Cooper told reporters in Brossard, Quebec. "I'm confident he'll be there.' Canada is down to just six healthy defensemen after losing Shea Theodore to injury midway through the second period against Sweden on Wednesday night and getting ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. Travis Sanheim is replacing Theodore in the lineup. Up front, Sam Bennett is expected to go in for Travis Konecny. Cooper formed a line of all three players he coaches with the Tampa Bay Lightning — Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel — with Bennett centering Brad Marchand and Seth Jarvis. Sullivan coy on changes If the U.S. is making any changes, coach Mike Sullivan isn't telling. 'We always consider lineup changes," Sullivan said Friday. Sullivan gave his players the day off after beating Finland. Chris Kreider and Jake Sanderson were the healthy scratches against Finland, but winning so convincingly might lead the staff to stick with the same 12 forwards and six defensemen. One noticeable in-game adjustment — beyond putting brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk together and watching them run roughshod over the Finns — was with the D-pairs, putting Noah Hanifin with Adam Fox and Jaccob Slavin with Brock Faber. 'We had our reasons on why we switched them up," Sullivan said. "I'm not going to get into what those reasons are, specifically. But we just felt that we wanted to affect a little bit of change amongst the pairs back there. We thought it would give us a better opportunity to get potentially advantageous matchups and give us a better chance to win. That inevitably is why we did it.' ___ AP NHL:
Associated Press
14-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Kevin Lankinen to replace Juuse Saros in goal for Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off vs. Sweden
MONTREAL (AP) — Kevin Lankinen will start in net for Finland against Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday after Juuse Saros allowed six goals on 32 shots in a 6-1 loss to the United States in each team's tournament opener, coach Antti Pennanen said. 'We have three good goalies,' Pennanen said after practice Friday. 'It's a good situation for us. Juuse, I think he was really good the first 40 minutes, but 6-1, so we need to do something. And Kevin, he has played good games lately, so that was behind that decision.' Saros' struggles stretched into the 4 Nations from his rough half-season-plus in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. The 29-year-old has lost 29 of his 41 starts, ranks 38th among goalies with a 2.95 goals-against average 33rd with an .899 save percentage. Asked how he would evaluate his performance against the U.S., Saros said: 'Obviously you always want to help your team even more on games like that.' does not even kick in until next season. Lankinen is 19-8-7 for the Vancouver Canucks with a 2.53 GAA and a .905 save percentage, making just above the league minimum at $875,000. A late bloomer who was never drafted, he grinded through minor leagues in Finland and North America before breaking through. 'I feel like there's still more — a lot more — to accomplish, so many more levels to step up to, and I feel like every single season so far has been good progress,' Lankinen said. 'Some of the pieces are coming together, but at the same time I recognize there is so much more to achieve.' Pennanen hinted at making other lineup changes after scratching Kaapo Kakko and Juuso Valimaki on Thursday night but would not reveal much. Valimaki said he was not playing. 'Could be, but tomorrow you will know about those,' Pennanen said. 'Again, 6-1, I think you need to do something but I know more exactly tomorrow, and those changes are public tomorrow.' Canada's Makar sick No. 1 defenseman Cale Makar should play for Canada against the U.S. on Saturday night after missing practice with an illness. 'Expect is a big word, but I'm confident,' coach Jon Cooper told reporters in Brossard, Quebec. 'I'm confident he'll be there.' Canada is down to just six healthy defensemen after losing Shea Theodore to injury midway through the second period against Sweden on Wednesday night and getting ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. Travis Sanheim is replacing Theodore in the lineup. Up front, Sam Bennett is expected to go in for Travis Konecny. Cooper formed a line of all three players he coaches with the Tampa Bay Lightning — Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel — with Bennett centering Brad Marchand and Seth Jarvis. Sullivan coy on changes If the U.S. is making any changes, coach Mike Sullivan isn't telling. 'We always consider lineup changes,' Sullivan said Friday. Sullivan gave his players the day off after beating Finland. Chris Kreider and Jake Sanderson were the healthy scratches against Finland, but winning so convincingly might lead the staff to stick with the same 12 forwards and six defensemen. One noticeable in-game adjustment — beyond putting brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk together and watching them run roughshod over the Finns — was with the D-pairs, putting Noah Hanifin with Adam Fox and Jaccob Slavin with Brock Faber. 'We had our reasons on why we switched them up,' Sullivan said. 'I'm not going to get into what those reasons are, specifically. But we just felt that we wanted to affect a little bit of change amongst the pairs back there. We thought it would give us a better opportunity to get potentially advantageous matchups and give us a better chance to win. That inevitably is why we did it.' ___
