The WC enters a new phase for the Finnish ice hockey lions. After the tough opening, there are now four, on paper, lighter clashes on the program. Next up is a match against France.
Finland – France
Tampere arena, at 8.20 p.m
Yle Sporten’s live chat from the match starts at 20:00
Finland’s situation: Situation to file on the goal shooter
The shape curve of the lion points upwards. The match against Sweden was a clear fall forward, even though it was a loss after penalties.
One detail that requires processing is the target shooting. Finland has been blunt in front of the opposition box. The problem has been evident in the power play.
The lions will dominate against France, so the pieces of the puzzle in the offensive may very well fall into place. It can do wonders for self-confidence if the team succeeds in scoring on a wide front.
France’s situation: The goal almost met
France is well on its way to achieving its minimum target. After an overtime victory over Austria and overtime losses against Denmark and Hungary, the Gauls are almost on dry land. The place in the A-VM 2024 is almost confirmed.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Lions trained at the WC arena.
Bild: Tomi Hänninen / Yle
Jukka Jalonen, Finlands herrlandslag i icehockey
The loss of points yesterday against Hungary still means that more points may be needed if the supposed bottom teams play crosswise. But the immediate program is tough for France. The realistic chance to increase the points harvest comes in the final group stage when the team faces Germany.
There is a clear risk that France will ease off the gas if tonight’s game is out of reach. To conserve energy before the end of the group stage.
Head-to-head matches: Blue-white tokdominance
Finland has faced France twenty times. Nineteen of them have ended in a blue-white victory. The average result has been 5.5–1 in favor of blue and white.
The only blemish on the record came during Lauri Marjamäki’s miserable stint as national team captain. France shocked Marjamäki’s men in Paris 2017. The home side won the match by an improbable 5–1.
Finland’s probable formations: Andracenter makes a comeback
Based on yesterday’s training session, we can calculate that Antti Suomela is back in the lineup. This means that Jere Sallinen is out of the playing squad tonight. Harri Pesonen takes Sallinen’s place in the first power play formation.
Waltteri Merelä was registered for the WC tournament yesterday but has to wait for his tournament debut.
Jussi Olkinuora will guard the goal tonight.
Finland’s probable line-up
First five:
70 Teemu Hartikainen – 65 Sakari Manninen – 96 Mikko Rantanen
4 Mikko Lehtonen – 55 Atte Ohtamaa
Second five:
10 Joel Armia – 74 Antti Suomela – 84 Kaapo Kakko
3 Olli Määttä – 50 Miika Koivisto
Third fifth
82 Harri Pesonen – 91 Juho Lammikko – 42 Kasperi Kapanen
52 Mikael Seppälä – 2 Ville Pokka
Fourth fifth
29 Ahti Oksanen – 24 Hannes Björninen – 12 Marko Anttila
6 Niklas Friman – 23 Nikolas Matinpalo
Goalkeeper:
45 Jussi Olkinuora (33 Emil Larmi)
PP1: Lehtonen – Rantanen – Manninen – Hartikainen – Pesonen
PP2: Määttä – Kapanen – Suomela – Armia – Kakko
The tip: Finland wins comfortably
This isn’t going to be particularly exciting. The Lions will mangle France and win without conceding. Finland wins 5–0.
