MONTREAL — Kevin Lankinen will start in net for Finland against Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday after Juuse Saros allowed six goals on 32 shots in a 6-1 loss to the United States in each team's tournament opener, coach Antti Pennanen said.
“We have three good goalies,” Pennanen said after practice Friday. “It’s a good situation for us. Juuse, I think he was really good the first 40 minutes, but 6-1, so we need to do something. And Kevin, he has played good games lately, so that was behind that decision.”
Saros' struggles stretched into the 4 Nations from his rough half-season-plus in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. The 29-year-old has lost 29 of his 41 starts, ranks 38th among goalies with a 2.95 goals-against average 33rd with an .899 save percentage.
Asked how he would evaluate his performance against the U.S., Saros said: “Obviously you always want to help your team even more on games like that.”
Saros' new, eight-year, $61.92-million contract does not even kick in until next season.
Lankinen is 19-8-7 for the Vancouver Canucks with a 2.53 GAA and a .905 save percentage, making just above the league minimum at $875,000. A late bloomer who was never drafted, he grinded through minor leagues in Finland and North America before breaking through.
4 Nations Face-Off on Sportsnet
The inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off is here with the top players from Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States going head-to-head in the highly anticipated best-on-best event. Watch all the games on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
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“I feel like there’s still more — a lot more — to accomplish, so many more levels to step up to, and I feel like every single season so far has been good progress,” Lankinen said. “Some of the pieces are coming together, but at the same time I recognize there is so much more to achieve.”
Pennanen hinted at making other lineup changes after scratching Kaapo Kakko and Juuso Valimaki on Thursday night but would not reveal much. Valimaki said he was not playing.
“Could be, but tomorrow you will know about those,” Pennanen said. "Again, 6-1, I think you need to do something but I know more exactly tomorrow, and those changes are public tomorrow.”
Lankinen will go up against Swedish netminder Filip Gustavsson, who was confirmed as Sweden's starter on Friday. Gustavsson started Sweden's 4-3 OT loss to Canada on Wednesday and stopped 24 of the 28 shots he faced.
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