Olympic Hockey Preview: Can Canucks’ Pettersson make an offensive impact vs. Slovakia? Will Lankinen start vs. Italy?
We’re fast approaching the final end of the Round Robin, with Group B (Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, and Italy) playing their final matches and we see a group solidified. But there are some big questions that remain surrouding the Vancouver Canucks’ participants.
Can Elias Pettersson make an impact and help his country offensively? Will Kevin Lankinen get the start against the Italians? Let’s find out.
Sweden vs. Slovakia
Coverage for Team Sweden vs. Team Slovakia kicks off on February 14 at 3:10 AM PST / 12:10 PM local from Milano Santagiulia IHO. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).
Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
There are no confirmed goaltenders for tomorrow’s games at the time of this writing.
After back-to-back outings in which Filip Gustavsson struggled, we would anticipate Jacob Markstrom getting the nod for this important game.
Considering the Slovaks gave Sam Hlavaj the day off today against the Italians, we would assume he earns the start in this match.
Sam Hallam: I know this isn’t a player. However, outside of William Nylander and Rasmus Dahlin, Hallam needs to get more out of his group. He has taken some criticism from Swedish fans for his deployment of Filip Forsberg. He and Lucas Raymond, two of Sweden’s top-five NHL point scorers, played sub-1o minutes against the Finns on Thursday. We will wait to see how he adjusts his lines ahead of a pivotal match for the Swedes, if they want to win their Group.
Juraj Slafkovsky: The Slovak is taking the country by storm with his performance at these Olympic Games. His two goals and four points had him in a tie for second with Nathan MacKinnon for in points this tournament. He’s been the driving force for this Slovakian team, and will remain the X-Factor if they can upset the Swedes and win the Group.
Germany vs. Latvia
Coverage for Team Germany vs. Team Latvia kicks off on February 14 at 3:10 AM PST / 12:10 PM local from Milano Rho Ice Hockey. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).
Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
There are no confirmed goaltenders for tomorrow’s games at the time of this writing.
After having the day off, we would say Philipp Grubauer is primed for another start. However, with them playing on Sunday against Team USA, the Germans may save him for that and lean on Mathias Niederberger. However, this is still an important game, so don’t be shocked to see Grubauer get the nod in both contests.
Considering Arturs Silovs led the Latvians out for the third period against the Americans in their opening match, we would anticipate that he would get the nod over Elvis Merzlikins.
JJ Peterka: Playing on a line with Tim Stutzle and on the top power play unit, finishing with an assist and three shots on goal seems a little underwhelming against the Danes. Expect the sniper to be more of a shooting threat against the Latvians.
Teddy Blueger: We made Alberts Smits our player to watch in the opening game, we have to throw Teddy Blueger a bone here. He might just be used in a defensive role, but if he can shutdown Leon Draisaitl or Stutzle, that’ll be a successful day for the Canuck.
Finland vs. Italy
Coverage for Team Finland vs. Team Italy kicks off on February 14 at 7:40 AM PST /4:40 PMM local from Milano Santagiulia IHO. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).
Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.
There are no confirmed goaltenders for tomorrow’s games at the time of this writing.
Juuse Saros has started both games for the Finns so far, and looked well on Friday. We would anticipate they give him a break against an easier opponent in the Italians and give Kevin Lankinen the start. We believe he would have the edge over Joonas Korpisalo after his work at the 4 Nations Faceoff last season.
After nearly stealing the game for the Italians on opening night against the Swedes, we would imagine Damian Clara would get the start.
Mikko Rantanen: It’s been a surprisingly quiet Olympics for Rantanen. He has just the the one empty-net goal on the tournament. There’s no better time than against the Italians to get over the struggles and start producing right before the Qualifying Round.
Matthew Bradley: The Vancouver, BC native has goals in both of Italy’s games so far this Olympics. With the Italians just playing for pride at this point, let’s see if he can make it three in a row.
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