After falling behind to the Austrians early, the Finns flipped a switch and took over the game on their way to an impressive 8-4 win in their first game of the tournament.
Austria, led by Michael Grabner, and Thomas Hundertpfund(!) combined for a pair of early goals to give the team 1-0 and 2-1 leads before Finland took over and dashed their hopes of an upset. The Finns scored five unanswered goals after Austria's 2nd goal and by the time Grabner scored a pair in the 3rd the game was out of reach.
Mikael Granlund (2), Jarkko Immonen (2), Sami Lepisto, Olli Maatta, Jussi Jokinen and Petri Kontiola all scored for the Suomi while Tuukka Rask stopped 16-20 in the win.
10 notes:
1. Perhaps the biggest story in this game is the status of Finnish captain Teemu Selanne. He looked good early as he had a few chances, and picked up the primary assist on Granlund's goal, as well. Midway-to-late in the 1st period he seemed to be in some discomfort, as at the end of 2-3 consecutive shifts the trainer was examining his neck on the bench before he finally left the game. It didn't look too serious so I think he'll be OK. Hopefully he was only kept out for precautionary reasons.
2. I thought Finland played an excellent game and, against a top-heavy team like Austria, head coach Errka Westerlund did a great job of using their depth against the Austrians. He rolled four lines all game long and after about a half of period it really started paying off. They're not loaded with elite players up front, but they have a lot of underrated players who get it done at both ends of the rink. As long as they get quality goaltending, I think they'll be able to keep it close with anyone.
3. More on utilizing team depth: No player played more than 19 minutes. No player (aside from the injured Selanne) played less than 10 minutes. Only two players played less than 12:45.
4. I thought Sami Vatanen played a real strong game on defense for the Finns. He had a bad turnover early in the 1st but after that he really settled in nicely. He made a couple nice plays in the defensive zone, was good with his outlet passes all night long and showed a lot of creativity in the offensive zone. Vatanen also set up teammates for quite a few chances and had a couple nice individual efforts dancing around Austrian players. He finished off with three assists in 18 minutes.
5. Jussi Jokinen was an absolute beast for Finland. It seemed like he had at least one scoring chance every time he was on the ice as he was a consistent threat all game long. He had a goal, an assist and six shots in just less than 17 minutes of ice. It's hard to believe he went unclaimed on waivers in the NHL just a season ago. He's a real useful player.
6. Speaking of Jokinen, I have no idea what Olli Jokinen was doing on Austria's 1st goal. For whatever reason he was behind the net despite his man being nowhere near there. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but he can't be floating around without covering someone when Finland's going up against one of the powerhouse teams in this tournament.
7. Mikael Granlund might have been the best player on the ice. He was flying around the ice all game long and consistently generated scoring chances throughout the entire game. He finished off with a pair of goals, an assist and six shots in a hair over 18 minutes of ice. Not a bad showing from the 21-year-old.
8. Olli Maatta had a bit of a rough go early in the 1st period, but he got better as the game went on. He seemed to settle in nicely after a puck went off his foot and past Rask in the 1st as he scored Finland's 3rd goal on what was the 1st Olympic goal of his career.
9. On the Austrian side of things, they didn't have too many bright spots. One they did have was the play of Michael Grabner. He was a force throughout the game and his speed definitely caused some problems for Finland. Grabner finished the game with a hat trick, which is a pretty impressive feat considering this was his first Olympic game. Especially when it was on Tuukka Rask.
10. Speaking of Rask, there were some weird goals, but he didn't do much to solidify any doubt some had about him being the team's No. 1 goaltender. I still think he's the guy, but four goals on just over 20 shots against Austria isn't too impressive.
My 3 stars
1. Mikael Granlund (FIN) 2. Michael Grabner (AUS) 3. Jussi Jokinen (FIN)
Honorable mention: Jarkko Immonen (FIN)
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