Finland is in tough without Barkov, but it can’t be an excuse for a poor performance
It was never going to be easy for Finland at the 2026 Olympics, but you didn’t need to be an expert to realize that.
For most people, Finland’s gold-medal defense ended back on Sept. 25, 2025, when Aleksander Barkov tore his ACL and MCL during a training camp practice and would require seven to nine months to recover from the surgery to repair them. The Olympics were about four-and-a-half to five months into his recovery period, so barring a miracle, Finland was going to be without the man who captained them at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Barkov certainly tried his best to be as healthy as possible, even returning to skating at the end of January, but there was still almost zero chance he was going to make it to Milan. Finland also knew that, as despite Barkov being named to the initial preliminary roster of six players in June, he was already ruled out of the tournament in January when the Leijonat announced their full roster.
It’s a shame for Barkov who, at 30 years old, had his prime Olympic years robbed by options outside of his control. He had a taste of the experience in 2014, playing two games during Finland’s run to bronze in Sochi, but since then, NHL politics, the COVID-19 pandemic and now an ACL and MCL injury have prevented him from returning for three straight tournaments. In fact, his best-on-best international experience has mostly been limited to the World Cup of Hockey in 2016 (where Finland failed to advance past the preliminary round) and last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off (where Finland got an overtme victory over Sweden, but finished the tournament in last place).
Finland also hasn’t had the best luck with health in recent best-on-best tournaments. In the 4 Nations Face-Off, Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, by far the country’s best blueliner, sustained a knee injury only weeks before the 4 Nations Face-Off. In 2014, they were without the Barkov of that era, Minnesota Wild center Mikko Koivu, for the tournament.
Finland is used to playing shorthanded, and being counted out of international play because of it (even if, in this instance, it was self-inflicted, as Florida Panthers and Finnish defenseman Niko Mikkola was the player who collided with Barkov in the play that resulted in his injury). That was the mentality entering the 2026 Olympics, and considering they were avoiding both of the top countries in the tournament in Canada and the United States in their group play, their chances of doing well at least seemed realistic. Their only challenge appeared to be a Swedish team also hit with a few injuries.
That was, until the tournament started.
Even a Barkov-less Finland squad looked like the better team on paper going into their opening match against Slovakia. This was a country far removed from the days of Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara and Jaroslav Halak, with only 10 NHL-affiliated players, and another five with previous NHL experience.
But as far as star talent, the team was limited to Montreal Canadiens 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky. To be fair, a large reason he was selected first overall was due to his play at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, scoring seven goals in seven games. But with Finland still boasting the likes of Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, Heiskanen and more as far as the skill on their team, it should have been an easy matchup.
And yet, Finland, usually the plucky underdog, lost to the plucky underdog. Slafkovsky scored a stunning goal in the first to give Slovakia the lead, and while Eeli Tolvanen tied the game for Finland in the second, goals from Dalibor Dvorsky, Slafkovsky again and Adam Ruzicka in the third period buried the Finns.
Some of the loss for Finland can be credited to an incredible performance in net from Samuel Hlavaj, as the Wild prospect stood on his head stopping 39 of 40 shots. But to just chalk the loss up to Finland outshooting the Slovaks 40-25 and getting unlucky would be letting the Finns off easy.
The first period was certainly an unlucky one, as Finland should have come out of the frame with a lead, not entering the intermission trailing. They outshot Slovakia 18-5 in the period and were easily the better team, but a misread from Mikko Lehtonen led to Slafkovsky’s highlight-reel goal to open the scoring, and it was advantage Slovakia.
You could even compare the performance to their Nordic rivals, who were in a similar spot against Italy later on Wednesday. The Italians registered the first goal, and while the Swedes responded twice and left the first period with a 2-1 lead, it felt like the score should have been more one-sided with a 27-3 shot margin.
But what ultimately led to Sweden avoiding the upset, and Finland falling victim to it, was how the two teams responded after the first. For Sweden, they kept up the momentum throughout the game, outshooting Italy 16-8 in the second despite both teams scoring once, and then the Tre Kronor buried the hosts in the third with two more goals while maintaining a 17-11 shot margin. They ultimately outshot Italy 60-22, keeping the pressure throughout the entire game, and pulled through with the win.
But Finland didn’t maintain the pressure of their 18-5 shot margin after the first period. In the second, the Slovaks drew closer, with Finland only having a 15-11 advantage. And then in the third period, with Finland needing to put forward their best effort to get the win… they were outshot 9-7 by Slovakia.
Whether Finland took their foot off the gas, were unable to maintain their momentum throughout the entire game, or were just overwhelmed by Slovakia, the Finns let a winnable game slip from their grasp.
Would Barkov in the lineup been the difference in this win? Who knows. His offensive ability, two-way prowess and experience from three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances was certainly missed, and he could have been a difference maker. He’s the Finns’ active leader in scoring, and since 2022, he’s second among Finnish players in goals above replacement per 60 minutes, with Roope Hintz’s offensive impact putting him over the top. Barkov’s also seventh among all forwards in defensive GAR in that span, and that’s with every other playing having the advantage of playing this season.
If you need a better view of Barkov’s impact, look at the Panthers this season. From 2022 to 2025, the Panthers are fifth in 5v5 goal share (54.61%), third in 5v5 expected goal share (54.18%) and made three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, in a span which Barkov missed some time, but still got into at least 67 games each season. In the 2025-26 season without Barkov, the Panthers are eight points out of a playoff spot, 25th in 5v5 goal share (46.19%) and 12th in 5v5 expected goal share (51.05%). Yes, Barkov hasn’t been their only injury (they’ve missed Matthew Tkachuk, Seth Jones, Brad Marchand and Dmitri Kulikov for significant stretches as well), but his impact is certainly missed.
But Finland isn’t Czechia or Germany, where they have an elite star like David Pastrnak and Leon Draisaitl and not much else. Finland still has plenty of talent without Barkov. Rantanen is just behind Barkov in NHL scoring among active Finnish players. Aho and Hintz aren’t too far behind Barkov in points per game. Hintz, Aho, Heiskanen and Esa Lindell join Barkov in the top 50 in GAR since 2022. Saros is 15th among goalies in GAR in that time as well. This team still has the tools to go far, even if Barkov’s defensive game would have been a big factor to pull off the upset against Canada or the United States.
But with a loss to Slovakia, a chance at winning Group B already feels slim. If they want to do so, they need their best performance against Sweden on Friday, and then to dominate Italy on Saturday. On paper, it’s possible, but there’s more doubt after the loss to Slovakia. Even Italy feels like a tall task, especially after watching how they played against a deeper Sweden squad.
Finland can’t just rely on hope and good vibes, they need to play like the top-four team they still are, even without Barkov. If they don’t, they will have as forgettable of an outing as they did in 2016 or last year.
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PRESENTED BY DAILY FACEOFF’S OLYMPIC COVERAGE
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