Finland Player Ratings: Jokiharju the lone scorer

For a time, it looked really promising for the underdog Finns, right up until the third period when the Americans went on a scoring spree led by the Tkachuk brothers, who combined for four goals on the night and helped blow the game wide open. 

And so, in the end, this Suomi-USA matchup in the 4 Nations Face-Off ended the way many figured it would: The favourites crushed the underdogs by a score of 6-1.

But let’s not forget that on Thursday night in Montreal, for a stretch of nearly three minutes in the first period, Finland had the lead in this one, thanks to defender Henri Jokiharju, who contributed his team’s lone goal. It was a heck of a way to start the tournament for the team that’s been decimated by injuries to their D corps, with Rasmus Ristolainen, Miro Heiskanen, and Jani Hakanpaa all out. That’s the very reason Jokiharju is in.

Finland couldn’t weather the American storm, though. Late in the second, Matt Boldy beat Finnish netminder Jusse Saros on a tip, and then the wheels fell off in the third: Matthew Tkachuk on the power play, Jake Guentzel 11 seconds later, Brady Tkachuk with his second of the game, and then Matthew with his, and it was over. 

But let’s take a look at how Finland did, keeping in mind that this team from a nation of fewer than 6 million people (America has more than 330 million) battled hard — and it truly showed for forty minutes. 

Aleksander Barkov, 7/10

The captain won some key faceoffs, led Finnish forwards in ice time, and his best chance came in the third period, off a quick shot on a four-on-three power play. Barkov led his team with five shots on net. 

Artturi Lehkonen, 7/10
The former Canadiens forward got the loudest cheer from fans during introductions as he stood on the ice to start the game. Among his four shots on net was a deflection that nearly converted, and could’ve really changed the trajectory of this game. 

Mikko Rantanen, 5/10
Despite his incredible skill, back-to-back 100-point seasons in the NHL, and his 19 minutes of ice time on Thursday, Rantanen wasn’t noticeable. Jake Guentzel blocked one of his shots, and he didn’t register a single one on Connor Hellebuyck. It wasn’t an encouraging start from one of Finland’s star forwards. 

Patrik Laine, 7/10 
Laine was buzzing and noticeable at times, and he had a few good looks, including a couple of one-timers on power plays. His best chance went high and wide. Laine got lots of love from the Montreal crowd.

Sebastian Aho, 6/10
Aho looked fast out there, but he was most noticeable on a couple of forced passes. On a two-on-one late in the second, he forced one over to Roope Hintz, and they didn’t register a shot. Neither did Aho, all game long.

Roope Hintz, 6/10
He saw 16:42 of ice time — third among Finnish forwards — but overall, his line with Laine and Aho didn’t get too much cooking, and Hintz also didn’t get any rubber on net. The good news: All three of Aho, Laine and Hintz were even in the plus-minus category. 

Eetu Luostarinen, 6/10 
His best shift came in the first period, when he fired a snap shot on net and then laid a hit on American defender Charlie McAvoy. 

Anton Lundell, 8/10 
Lundell was stellar on the penalty kill in the first two periods, even generating a partial breakaway at the end of a shift and getting a shot off with one hand. He worked hard deep in the American zone to generate chances. 

Mikael Granlund, 9/10
Granlund was on a three-on-two with a pair of defenders in the first period, and had the presence of mind to feed Jokiharju with a nice feed that led to Finland’s first goal. He also blocked a pair of shots.

Joel Armia, 8/10
He had a really good chance from the high slot but just missed the net. Armia worked hard to create offensive chances, and he won a lot of battles. 

Teuvo Teräväinen, 7/10 

He had a little more than 10 minutes of ice time, but Teräväinen looked good on an early power play in the first period, running point and generating a couple of early chances on net.

Erik Haula, 8/10
He blocked a shot on an American power play, and was key on the penalty kill in shutting down weapons like captain Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes. Haula also had a breakaway in the second period when it was 1-1, but Hellebuyck made the shoulder save, his biggest of the game. Haula also laid down a team-leading three hits (Finland doesn’t hit much).

Henri Jokiharju, 10/10
A late addition to this team due to injuries, he made quite an impact. Jokiharju scored the opener in this game on a three-on-two with a knuckle puck wrister that beat Hellebuyck over the shoulder, less than halfway through the first period. And with that, Jokiharju matches his goal total this year with the Buffalo Sabres. 

Niko Mikkola, 9/10
Against a potent and physical American offence, Mikkola logged a lot of hard minutes, absorbed a lot of Tkachuk hits, and was solid defensively. He routinely battled to break the puck out and keep Finland out of trouble, especially in the first two periods. Only Esa Lindell played more in Thursday’s loss. 

Esa Lindell, 9/10
It’s Lindell who paced all Finnish players with 24:31 of ice time. Leading this defensive unit that’s been ravaged by injury isn’t easy, and Lindell put in hard work on Thursday, for no reward. 

Nikolas Matinpalo, 6/10
He had a pair of shots on net, and was also minus-2 on the night. Truly a tough assignment for a guy added to the roster five days ago in place of an injured Ristolainen. 

Urho Vaakanainen, 6/10
He was also added to Finland’s roster earlier this month due to injury, and saw the least ice of any Finnish defender. Again, a very tough assignment, and he was minus-2 with one blocked shot. 

Olli Maatta, 9/10
He picked up an assist on Finland’s first goal, and kick-started the play with a quick breakout pass before jumping into the rush to create a three-on-two (featuring a pair of Finnish defenders). Maatta then drove through the middle to the net, creating chaos in front to help get his team on the board first. 

Juuse Saros, 7/10 
Saros gave up six goals, but he still earns a pretty high mark here because he certainly gave his team a chance. Stealing a game against this potent American offence was a tall order, and for nearly two periods, Saros was doing just that. He made some great saves early on Matthews’ line (his crossbar also gets some credit). Matthew Tkachuk’s first goal — a point shot on the power-play — looked like it surprised Saros, and after that, the onslaught followed. The Finnish netminder faced 32 shots.