It's nearly time for Team Sweden and Team Finland to face one another in the 4 Nations Face-off tournament, and both teams will be looking for their first victory after having been defeated by Team Canada and Team USA, respectively.
After having started Filip Gustavsson in their loss to Canada on Wednesday, Finland has made a switch between the pipes. They'll be starting Kevin Lakinen in Saturday afternoon's game against Finland, which will be held at Bell Centre, the home of the Montreal Canadiens since 1996.
Before the official announcement was made, Lankinen met with media members and explained that it would be a dream come true for him to get the start in a tournament like this, via X.
“It would be huge,” he said. “I mean, it would be a dream come true. It's what every little kid is dreaming about, especially tournaments like this. To play against the best while representing your country, it's what you work so hard for.”
“I'm just going to compete and do whatever I can.”
Finland and Canada are scheduled to face-off at 1:00 PM EST on Saturday afternoon.
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Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen has been critical to Vancouver's success
Because Canucks starter Thatcher Demko was hurt to begin the 2024-25 season and backup Arturs Silovs continued to struggle, the Canucks signed former Nashville Predators goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a one-year, inexpensive contract.
And he's been one of the most underrated members of the Canucks this season, performing better than anyone could have realistically expected. He earned his place on Team Finland after racking up an impressive 19-8-7 record with a 2.53 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage along with four shutouts.
If Lankinen is able to continue his success with the Canucks, it stands to reason that general manager Patrik Allvin will offer him a contract extension for beyond this season.
