STOCKHOLM — Eeli Tolvanen scored the shootout winner as Finland edged Canada 2-1 on Monday to hand the Canadians their first loss at the men's world hockey championship.
Patrik Puistola scored the game-tying marker for Finland at 7:01 of the third period. Juuse Saros stopped 37 shots.
Ryan O'Reilly opened the scoring at 7:47 of the second period for Canada, which got 21 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury. Kent Johnson scored the lone Canadian goal in the shootout.
“(Finland) played a really sound defensive game, and they play really compact in the defensive zone. We struggled early to break through that, and we were not hanging on to the puck as much as I would have liked," said Canadian head coach Dean Evason.
"We were throwing too many pucks into the middle of the ice where (the Finns) would collapse. Once we realized that we needed to hold onto the puck a bit more, we were able to generate more opportunities and more shots. We anticipate the same type of game plan (from Sweden), and we need to be a little more patient and continue to not give up a lot defensively.”
Canada entered the preliminary round contest with at 5-0 record, having outscored its opponents 28-2 in those games. Meanwhile, the Finns had only lost to co-host Sweden and had a plus-10 goal differential (18-8) coming into the matchup against Canada.
“It is always better to win, and obviously a lot more fun. It was a good hockey game from both sides tonight, and it was a lot more physical than our previous games," said O'Reilly. "We know it is going to be like that again (Tuesday) when we play Sweden, as well as moving forward in the tournament, but it is disappointing to lose this one.”
The Canadians (5-0-1-0) are second in Group A standings with 16 points, two behind Sweden (6-0-0-0). Finland (3-2-0-1) is third with 13 points.
Canada will close out the preliminary round against Sweden on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2025.
The Canadian Press
