Team Finland secured a 4-1 victory over rival Team Sweden in Group B of the men's hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The win featured strong goaltending from Juuse Saros and a pivotal short-handed goal by Joel Armia. Both teams now hold three points after two games, with Slovakia leading the group.
At Santagiulia Arena in Milan on Friday, Team Finland rebounded from an opening loss to Slovakia with an emotional 4-1 win against Team Sweden, marking their second Olympic victory over the Swedes in five meetings involving NHL players since 1998.
Nikolas Matinpalo opened scoring at 7:44 of the first period with a shot from above the left face-off circle, followed by Anton Lundell's goal at 15:26, which he allowed to deflect off Sweden goalie Filip Gustavsson to avoid video review nullification. Rasmus Dahlin pulled Sweden within 2-1 on a power-play goal at 4:39 of the second period. However, momentum shifted decisively when Erik Haula pinned the puck along the boards during a Swedish power play at 11:03, drawing defenders and freeing the puck for Armia's short-handed goal at 12:47, making it 3-1.
"I'm just trying to play time honestly, body position, eat the clock and then the play happens," Haula said. Armia added, "I think Haula played it really well, drawing in all the guys there. I just found a good spot there."
Sweden coach Sam Hallam noted, "We score on the power play, we get another [power play] and we are on our way back. Instead, they score on their PK. After the game -- didn't know it then -- it feels like that is where this game was decided."
Juuse Saros made 34 saves, including 17 in the third period, while Gustavsson stopped 20 shots for Sweden. Mikko Rantanen sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:25 of the third. Finland killed five of six penalties, with 12 players recording points.
"Identity game, I felt like," Haula said. Saros added, "It is a good formula for sure, and everyone looked good today. If we want to succeed in this tournament, we just have to keep building from here."
Sweden captain Gabriel Landeskog acknowledged, "They defend hard, they are well coached and we knew it wasn't going to be easy."
Lundell also prevented a potential Sweden goal late in the third by clearing the puck from the crease. "Keeping the lead in the third is big because they would get the momentum, it would have been 3-2," Lundell said. Finland captain Mikael Granlund praised, "He was great again."
Both teams (1-0-1-0) face final group games Saturday: Sweden against Slovakia, Finland against Italy. Slovakia leads Group B with six points after a 3-2 win over Italy.
