Search

2022  m w c  preview  c a n  f i n

Men’s Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Finland

Sunday, May 29 | 1:20 p.m. ET | Tampere, Finland | Gold Medal Game

May 28, 2022
|

TV: TSN | Stream: TSN Direct

Canada’s National Men’s Team is in the gold medal game at the IIHF World Championship for the third-straight tournament and sixth out of the last seven, but will need to go through host Finland to capture back-to-back world titles.

LAST GAME

Canada trailed Czechia 1-0 early, but after a late goal from Dylan Cozens in that same frame and three in the second period (from Adam Lowry, Kent Johnson and Matt Barzal), Canada never looked back as it finished a a convincing 6-1 semifinal win. Canada spent nearly eight minutes in the first period on the penalty kill, giving up that lone Czech goal near the tail-end of a double minor. Canada didn’t take another minor penalty but did capitalize on its own man-advantage opportunities twice in the second period. Cole Sillinger and Cozens added goals in the third period to round out the scoring and Chris Driedger made 25 saves for the win.

Finland took on the United States in its semifinal, picking up a thrilling 4-3 win to earn its third-straight trip to the worlds final. The Finns fell behind early in the first period before Miro Heiskanen tied it. Finland took the lead in the second, but the U.S. answered back two-and-a-half minutes later. The hosts jumped ahead again at the midway mark of the second period on a goal by Sami Vatanen, and Joel Armia recorded the game-winner in the third.

LAST MEETING

As inferred above, the last time Canada and Finland met at the worlds was the 2021 gold medal game and few Canadians can forget how that one ended – with a 3-2 overtime win that capped off a Cinderella-like run for Canada. Trailing 2-1 with less than eight minutes to go, Canadian captain Adam Henrique scored the equalizer on a power play to force the extra frame, where Connor Brown and Nick Paul worked a two-on-one to perfection to capture Canada’s 27th gold medal.

WHAT TO WATCH

Canada’s top line is nearly unstoppable right now, with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cozens at 13 points each and Drake Batherson sitting on 12. But there is also plenty of depth in Canada’s forward contingent, so stopping one line will not be enough for the Finns.

Finland, on the other hand, boasts the tournament’s top goaltending, with a team save percentage of .949. The penalty kill has been perfect, as in zero goals against and only 16 penalties taken in nine games. The only chink in the man-advantage armour was a goal scored six-on-five when the U.S. pulled its goaltender looking for an equalizer in the semifinal.

A LOOK BACK

It is hard to imagine a more charged battle than Finland and Canada for the world title, as these teams have met in the previous two finals, each bringing home a gold medal.

Historically, Canada has the edge in overall meetings, but is 1-4 in the last five games (that lone win being the gold medal last year). However, the last time Canada did go back-to-back at worlds, in 2016, it was a 2-0 shutout win over Finland to claim the title. Connor McDavid scored in the first, Matt Duchene added the insurance marker in the third and Cam Talbot made 16 saves for the shutout.

All-time record: Canada leads 37-13-2 (W-L-T)
Canada goals: 273
Finland goals: 117

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

emadziya@hockeycanada.ca 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

ssharkey@hockeycanada.ca

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

jknight@hockeycanada.ca

Recent News
Most Popular
Videos
Photos
2024 Esso Cup: Sunday, April 21 (Preliminary)
The Storm, Jr. Oilers and Lakers notched wins on Day 1 of the Esso Cup.
2024 WWC: CAN 6 – USA 5 (Gold Medal)
Serdachny was the hero, scoring 5:16 into OT to give Canada gold.
2024 WWC: CAN 4 – CZE 0 (Semifinal)
Emily Clark had a goal and an assist, pushing Canada into the final.
2024 WWC: CAN 5 – SWE 1 (Quarterfinal)
Fast scored twice to help Canada to a spot in the semifinals.
Schedule