{"id":451715,"date":"2026-02-09T00:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T00:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/451715\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T00:37:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T00:37:25","slug":"olympic-setback-for-canadiens-forward-oliver-kapanen-as-team-finland-unveils-line-combinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/451715\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic setback for Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen as Team Finland unveils line combinations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  &#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/640676.webp.webp\" style=\"width:100%;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Jan 20, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen (91) plays the puck against the Minnesota Wild during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images\" title=\"Jan 20, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen (91) plays the puck against the Minnesota Wild during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images\"\/>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>If things seem to be going well for Nick Suzuki with Canada, the reality is quite different for another member of the Canadiens organization in Milan.<\/p>\n<p>The first line combinations for the Finnish team were unveiled during today\u2019s practice, and they bring bad news for young Oliver Kapanen.<\/p>\n<p>According to journalist Ville Touru, Kapanen was used as an extra forward on the ice.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s a decision that raises eyebrows given the recent performances of the Canadiens prospect.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, only three Finnish players have scored more goals than him this season: stars Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, and former Canadiens player Artturi Lehkonen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Oliver Kapanen is an extra forward at Team Finland practice today.<\/p>\n<p>The only Finnish players with more goals than him this season are: Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho &amp; Artturi Lehkonen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; HabsOnReddit<\/p>\n<p>Finding yourself in the stands while being your nation\u2019s fourth-highest scorer is a tough pill to swallow.<\/p>\n<p>A well-stocked center line for Finland and bad news for Montreal Canadiens\u2019 Oliver Kapanen<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s call it like it is: Finland is relying on experience to start the tournament, which pushes Kapanen out of the regular lineup.<\/p>\n<p>Even Joel Armia managed to crack the lineup on the fourth line.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s really unfortunate for Kapanen, who was so eager to play a game at the Olympics. Let\u2019s really hope he gets to play at least one!<\/p>\n<p>Here are the combinations that relegated Kapanen to a reserve role:<\/p>\n<p>1st line: Rantanen \u2013 Hintz \u2013 Granlund.<\/p>\n<p>2nd line: Lehkonen \u2013 Aho \u2013 Teravainen.<\/p>\n<p>3rd line: Luostarinen \u2013 Lundell \u2013 Kakko.<\/p>\n<p>4th line: Tolvanen \u2013 Haula \u2013 Armia.<\/p>\n<p>Kapanen will therefore have to be patient and hope for an opportunity to showcase his offensive skills on the Olympic stage.<\/p>\n<p>Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n<p>POLL<\/p>\n<p>4 HOURS AGO|196 ANSWERS<\/p>\n<p>Olympic setback for Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen as Team Finland unveils line combinations<\/p>\n<p>Did Oliver Kapanen deserve a spot in Finland\u2019s top-12?<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; &#13; Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images If things seem to be going well for Nick Suzuki&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,973,2418,38913,4,1618,2602,15233],"class_list":{"0":"post-451715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-joel-armia","10":"tag-lineup","11":"tag-milan-cortina-2026","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-oliver-kapanen","14":"tag-olympics","15":"tag-team-finland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116037884459619890","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}