Almost the same gold national team – with additional excellence. Then the Lions lost in the premiere against an anonymous USA. They drove us over, admits Mikko Rantanen afterwards.
For a period everything looked as it should. Finland came out clearly sharper from their starting positions in the World Cup opener against the USA and totally dominated the first 20 minutes of the match.
Then everything went wrong. The lions invited the not-so-famous American World Cup national team into the match, and the guests thanked and accepted.
The first equalizer was easily ruled out after Jukka Jalonen challenged the decision for goalkeeper interference. When Cutter Gauthier, 19, shot shortly after that from a good position, not even the referees could save Finland.
Time for Finland’s NHL stars to step up, perhaps? Well, not really.
Mikko Rantanen looked nothing like the same player who scored seven goals in as many games for Colorado in the NHL playoffs. And although Kaapo Kakko did try, he was unable to squeeze the puck in and instead managed to miss the play equipment several times.
Ring rustiness?
– After all, it’s only been a week and a half since my last game, so I’m not going to blame it, says New York Rangers striker Kakko to Yle Sporten afterwards and continues:
– Well, sure, we flew all the way here and didn’t play at all, but we should have played better. It’s not more difficult than that.
Rantanen needs time to adapt to the rink
Mikko Rantanen – the star who broke both the 50-goal and 100-point marks in the NHL this season – agrees.
– It was perhaps the big rink that was the problem for me. It was challenging to adapt. You could see that I was a bit out and about sometimes.
Kakko, on the other hand, enjoyed having a little more time on the ice.
– I like when you have time to think and don’t have to react at lightning speed all the time, he says.
Mikko Rantanen got into several dangerous shooting positions, but was defended away each time.
Bild: Petri Saarelainen / AOP
Mikko Rantanen, Finlands herrlandslag i icehockey
The USA came to the WC in Tampere with a fairly anonymous squad and according to some advance tips, they even ran the risk of missing the quarter-finals. That tip doesn’t seem to hold up after Friday’s strength announcement.
In addition to Gauthier, Drew O’Connor (46 games in the Pittsburgh Penguins) and Alex Tuch (36 goals in the Buffalo Sabres) managed to score. The latter twice, the second of which in an empty cage.
– The USA is not a bad team. They are strong skaters and at times ran over us with sheer speed, says Rantanen.
– It is no surprise that they are good. They have a huge amount of guys in the NHL and could fill any number of squads with good players, compare Kakko.
The cap is clearly better than under EHT, but is critical
At the same time that Rantanen and Kakko have a lot to be dissatisfied with in their first WC match in at least four years, another, slightly more surprising name stepped forward.
Kasperi Kapanen was completely cut after anemic efforts in the last EHT tournament and many even expected St. Louis Blues winger would have been poked from the final squad.
Kapanen was still selected and was the third line’s most visible player. And he emphasizes that it was Finland that let the USA take over the match.
– It is difficult to score when you chase the puck in your own zone, says Kapanen’s harsh, but fair analysis of the Lions’ performance as a team.
Kasperi Kapanen was in good spirits, but less happy after the loss.
Bild: Petri Saarelainen / AOP
Kasperi Kapanen, Finlands herrlandslag i icehockey
– We lose momentum in the second period and never get it back. We must do better in the future. We just let them take over. We knew they were fast and they also managed to keep the puck, continues Kapanen and is agreed by Rantanen:
– We made life far too easy for them. It felt like they didn’t have to dump the puck in once, but could drive in as easily as they wanted. On the contrary, we can’t get the gear in, says the assistant captain.
“The first match – the chemistry wasn’t there yet”
De tre NHL-namnen spjälkades then upp av Jukka Jalonen i matchen. Rantanen fick spela i förstakedjan together with Sakari Manninen and Teemu Hartikainen, so in practically the same role as Mikael Granlund had last year.
In addition, Rantanen was among the only NHL reinforcements with the first powerplay woman (along with Manninen, Hartikainen, Jere Sallinen and Mikko Lehtonen).
– It was the first match together for us and the chemistry didn’t quite work as well as it could, Rantanen analyzes honestly.
Kakko in turn played together with Antti Suomela and Joel Armia. Also in the second powerplay formation, which didn’t have to hone its form very much during the match.
– As a chain, we want to create many more locations than we did. Sure, we created some good chances, but not nearly as effectively as we wanted, he says.
Kaapo Kakko’s best opportunity to break the deadlock came in the first period when he pounced on a loose puck near the USA goal.
Bild: Petri Saarelainen / AOP
Kaapo Kakko, Finland’s men’s national ice hockey team, USA men’s national ice hockey team
Sad and sad? Definitely. Alarming? Not at all.
– At least I’m not worried. This was the first match, now we have it out of the way and although you always want to win, we trust that we can do much better than this, says Kakko.
– It’s only good that we have another match tomorrow. That way you don’t have time to wait and think too much, says Rantanen.
Finland meets Germany at 20.20 on Saturday. Yle Sporten follows the events of the match with a live chat!
