‘We outplayed them a bit, but couldn’t capitalize’: Finland reacts to upset loss to Slovakia
Entering the tournament as the defending Olympic champions from Beijing 2022, despite a completely different roster outside of flag bearer and former NHLer Mikko Lehtonen, Finland’s tournament didn’t get off to the way they had hoped.
Instead of a swift victory, they couldn’t convert on their opportunities, losing to Slovakia 4-1 on the back of two goals from Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky. Finland led the shot count 40-12, with Slovakian netminder Samuel Hlavaj turning away 39 shots.
“We had a lot of chances and couldn’t capitalise. That was the main key to today’s game. We outplayed them a bit, but just couldn’t finish. If we keep playing like that, we should be fine,” said Finland’s Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen. “We knew they were a hard team. After a few shifts, we were able to break out better and get more chances, but I wasn’t surprised.”
Slafkovsky, who won bronze with Slovakia at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, brought his all-time Olympic tally to nine goals in eight games, having scored seven goals in seven games to help his nation to the podium four years ago, before joining the Canadiens.
He scored twice on four shots as the driving force for Slovakia, whereas LA Kings forward Joel Armia failed to hit the back of the net on his five shots for Finland
“We had a lot of chances,” Armia said. “Obviously, we couldn’t be happy with the loss, but we created enough chances to win this game and take over, but we didn’t. It sucks, but that’s one game, and there’s plenty more.”
“Samuel Hlavaj made a couple of good saves, but it’s more on us that we didn’t score.”
With the loss behind them, Finland will now look ahead to making up ground against Scandinavian rival Sweden on Friday, with the potential to avoid a qualification playoff still within grasp.
Sweden got off to a rough start in the men’s tournament soon after Finland’s loss, allowing the first goal to Italy, before rebounding on the back of their NHL talents.
“It is a disappointment. The tournament is pretty short, so you can’t live with the loss too long. So we have to focus on the next game,” added Florida Panthers’ Finnish blueliner, Niko Mikkola. “It is always a big match against Sweden. It does not matter the circumstances…It is going to be a fun game for sure.”
Following the clash with Sweden, Finland will take on Italy to round out group stage play on Saturday. Slovakia’s tournament continues with eyes on winning the group, starting with a game against Italy on Friday and the preliminary round finale against Sweden on Saturday.
“It’s a great start in the tournament. We have a lot of respect for Finland, they played great,” said former NHLer and Slovakian star forward, Tomas Tatar. “‘We have to stay humble. It’s just the one game.”