FINLAND (2-0-1-0) vs. SWITZERLAND (2-1-1-0): Feb. 18, 12:10 p.m. ET
HOW THEY GOT HERE
This year’s Olympic men’s hockey tournament has been defined by parity moreso than others with NHL player participation, and Team Finland‘s run to the quarterfinals is a good example. The Finns easily could’ve crumbled after losing 4-1 in their first game of the tournament against Team Slovakia, but they came back two days later to beat Team Sweden by the same score and wrapped up the preliminary round with a decisive 11-0 victory over Team Italy.
Finland, Sweden, and Slovakia ended up in a three-way tie for first place in Group B, with head-to-head goal differential being used to determine seeding. The result? Slovakia and Finland earned byes to the quarters, while Sweden ended up facing Team Latvia in the playoff round.
Meanwhile, Team Switzerland is in the midst of one of its best showings at the men’s tournament in recent memory. After winning two out of three (including an overtime thriller against Team Czechia) in the preliminaries, the Swiss earned the right to take on bottom-seeded Italy in the playoffs and came away with a 3-0 win.
After a relatively quiet opening round, Nico Hischier led the way with three points in the game against Italy. But the Finns are certainly a different level of opponent. Can the Finns continue their quest to defend their gold medal from 2022, or will Switzerland reach the semifinals for the first time?
WHEN THEY LAST MET IN BEST ON BEST…
Finland and Switzerland last faced off in best-on-best competition at Torino 2006, where they finished first and second in Group A, respectively (both ahead of Team Canada). But while they were close in the standings, their head-to-head matchup was anything but. Powered by a two-goal, three-point outing from Olli Jokinen, the Finns chased Swiss starter Martin Gerber after 40 minutes of play and ultimately prevailed by a 5-0 final score. Switzerland ultimately bowed out against Sweden in that year’s quarterfinals; Finland made it all the way to the championship final but had to settle for silver after a 3-2 loss to the very same Swedes.
TOP SCORERS
Finland
T-1. Kaapo Kakko, F: 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS
T-1. Joel Armia, F: 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS
T-3. Artturi Lehkonen, F: 3 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS
T-3. Mikko Rantanen, F: 3 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS
T-5. Sebastian Aho, F: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS
T-5. Mikael Granlund, F: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS
Switzerland
1. Timo Meier, F: 4 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 PTS
2. Roman Josi, D: 4 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS
T-3. Nico Hischier, F: 4 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS
T-3. J.J. Moser, D: 4 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS
5. Dean Kukan, D: 4 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS
FINLAND
The Finns have been doing it by committee all tournament long. In their 4-1 win over Sweden last Friday, 12 different Finnish players scored a point … but none of them had more than one. Four players on this Finnish team are tied for the scoring lead with four points apiece, and five more are tied below them with three.
If anything, the real standout has been goaltender Juuse Saros, who has played in all three games thus far and has posted a 2-1-0 record with a sparkling .946 save percentage. Unless something goes horribly wrong in this quarterfinal matchup, expect Saros to play the whole thing once again. Finland has won four medals in Olympic men’s hockey with NHL player participation, including a silver at Torino 2006, but it won’t be a walk in the park for them to get out of the quarterfinals this time around.
SWITZERLAND
It’s Timo Time in Milan! Timo Meier ranks among the scoring leaders in the entire men’s hockey tournament with seven points in four games, including a pair of assists in Switzerland’s 3-0 win over Italy on Tuesday. With Kevin Fiala ruled out for the tournament (and the remainder of the NHL season) after sustaining a severe leg injury last week, Switzerland needs all of its forwards to find another gear. They’re certainly playing with their hearts on their sleeves.
After shutting out Italy, Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni now has a perfect 3-0-0 record and a .962 save percentage in these Olympics. It’d be a major surprise if the 38-year-old netminder weren’t between the pipes against the Finns on Wednesday.
BURNING QUESTIONS
Finland: Will an offensive hero finally emerge? Again, the Finns haven’t really had a singular offensive driver in this tournament. If they’re going to avoid a repeat of the Slovakia game against this plucky Swiss team, they’ll need somebody like Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, or even Miro Heiskanen to have a huge individual showing. In previous years, it’s been Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, and Mikael Granlund who have broken through in big ways to get the Finns into medal territory; whom will it be this time?
Switzerland: Can they set the tone? This Swiss team is far from a conventional underdog. They’ve got legit pieces at every position. But still … this is a team that hasn’t medalled since 1948, long before the conventional Olympic knockout format existed. Switzerland has what it takes to overcome this particular obstacle, but they’ll need to play their best hockey from their opening puck-drop, and they’ll need to show the same resilience they displayed in their wild overtime win over the Czechs in the preliminary round.
PREDICTION
This one really could go either way. Finland is the more established hockey country with an extremely long track record of success at this level. Switzerland is an up-and-coming hockey power with a ton of momentum in this tournament. The Finns have more depth, but Switzerland’s top end has been very threatening in the offensive zone, particularly on the power play. With these goaltenders involved, expect a tight game that comes down to the wire. Finland wins 3-2.
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