PGT: 9/22 Russia vs Finland - Russia advances with a 3-0 victory over Finland.

[GigaChad]

This is the first time in.. 14 years that we won't go home with a medal in a best on best tournament. Salt lake city was bad, but this was even more so. Hopefully they learn something out of this.

 

[Dris]

For our young guys this is propably for the good, to see what it takes to perform well in this level. The ending was fitting as well, it was a symbol of forfeit and carry on safely, the latter the most important. Pick it up from here and heads up to the future. Management has to consider new options and we have seen 2 tournaments with Laine-Barkov now and I just dont see the chemistry on the level it should be, break it up, like Ovy and Geno. Too much respect for past too and giving playtime according to history. Haula benching was weird as well. Also is Granlund done on center, he played on a strict Mike Yeo team that can suffocate creativity and it can take the fun out of the game when it becomes too much of a grind. Next season is telling, but we have Aho then as well of course.

This was the worst best on best tournament I ever saw from Finland, but also the one I was least emotionally involved with from the beginning.

Good points

 

[FinPanda]

Winning us when we had nothing to lose, congrats Russia.

 

[Dris]

Vatanen? Hell no. He has been awful.

Vatanen, Pokka, Jokipakka , Olli Määttä

BUt they are so young and with lot of room for improvement

 

[crowi]

Man, this is getting embarrassing. You can hype your good ole American Matthews only so much. Will anybody apologize if Laine has a better season in the NHL?

no. (extra character)

 

[Paxton Fettel]

Winning us when we had nothing to lose, congrats Russia.

Are you kidding me? Finland lost all of its pride today by losing to its "*****" of the last decade right after getting beaten by arch rival Sweden. Even Laine said they were going to win and that Russia can't play as a team.

 

[crowi]

Are you kidding me? Finland lost all of its pride today by losing to its "*****" of the last decade right after getting beaten by arch rival Sweden. Even Laine said they were going to win and that Russia can't play as a team.

Yep, all the pride is gone, so sad. Ohhhhh, what to do without the pride?

 

[Johnnybegood13]

Barkov is Russian after all, looked like he was playing for them anyway.

 

[BL92]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/espn-names-maple-leafs-worst-franchise-in-sports-again

 

[FinPanda]

Are you kidding me? Finland lost all of its pride today by losing to its "*****" of the last decade right after getting beaten by arch rival Sweden. Even Laine said they were going to win and that Russia can't play as a team.

Nope, they played well. Just couldn't score.

 

[BL92]

Are you kidding me? Finland lost all of its pride today by losing to its "*****" of the last decade right after getting beaten by arch rival Sweden. Even Laine said they were going to win and that Russia can't play as a team.

All the pride in Finland has gone, my ancestors didn't die for this, buuhuuhuuhuuuuuuu

 

[TheFinnishTrap]

Why is this so important for Canadians, especially Leafs fans? Pretty much everyone knew Finland was one of the weakest teams on paper, probably only ahead of Czechs. In my opinion even looking competitive against Sweden and Russia is almost overachieving. The goal scoring problem was far worse than I thought, I'll admit that. It just hurts that much more when you look like you control the game but can't get anything in.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Canada will come out like rabid dogs in the semi. If Russia weather the initial storm, they can win.

I don't think Russia can win. Their offense is world class but until they can start developing elite defensemen they're going to continue getting pounded by Canada in best on best tournaments. I'm just hoping it's not an embarrassing score and we get a good game.

 

[Whileee]

Clearly, nobody taught Spector how to watch hockey. Luckily, he has Twitter to openly display his ignorance. I think he just has his panties in a twist because he's a fanboy of team NA.

 

[NyQuil]

I wonder if we looked just as bad in 2014 in Sochi and this year in St Pete vs Finland because Finland looked terrible today. However, we must note they were not motivated at all.

As for the semi final:

Don't you mean:

 

[BL92]

Why is this so important for Canadians, especially Leafs fans? Pretty much everyone knew Finland was one of the weakest teams on paper, probably only ahead of Czechs. In my opinion even looking competitive against Sweden and Russia is almost overachieving. The goal scoring problem was far worse than I thought, I'll admit that. It just hurts that much more when you look like you control the game but can't get anything in.

Been wondering this myself. At least I now know that Leafs have the worst fanbase in the NHL, miles worse than Flyers or Bruins but at least those teams are actually okay. Canadians are just upset because their special gimmick team didn't get special treatment and advance.

 

[crowi]

Been wondering this myself. At least I now know that Leafs have the worst fanbase in the NHL, miles worse than Flyers or Bruins but at least those teams are actually okay. Canadians are just upset because their special gimmick team didn't get special treatment and advance.

There's one guy and the surname starts with M. That is why the guy whose surname starts with L is getting **** on and generally why they care.

 

[BL92]

There's one guy and the surname starts with M. That is why the guy whose surname starts with L is getting **** on and generally why they care.

Guess they are insecure about the pick.

 

[Claypool]

Did Finland even score a goal this tournament?

 

[crowi]

Did Finland even score a goal this tournament?

That is a good google practice for you. Try to find out!

 

[Dris]

Well done to Russia...that SF against Canada will be a cracker

Sorry about Team NA because those guys had some chemistry going and never will play again together...

We will be back next year...better, I hope

 

[LoveNHL]

Finnish way to play hockey sucks on top level. It is just too slow and ineffective. Defenders like Vatanen do more harm than good to the team. His puck handling might look flashy but is horrible.

 

[Kshahdoo]

It was a boring game. Finns were dead, and we looked like a bunch of grinders.

 

[Dris]

Did Finland even score a goal this tournament?

Filppula against NA 4-1

 

[crowi]

Filppula against NA 4-1

I was trying to teach google to that guy man...