The Lions got the goal taps open at the Ice Hockey World Cup when they defeated Hungary 7–1 on Friday.
Sports expert Ismo Lehkonen highlights three takeaways from the Lions’ situation. You can also watch Lehkonen’s thoughts in the video below.
1. Rantanen dominated, still difficult for Kako
Finnish NHL stars Kaapo Kako and Kasperi Kapanen succeeded in finishing for the first time in the Games.
Kapanen has been one of Leijoni’s successful players since the beginning of the tournament, while Kako has had a more difficult time. Lehkonen doesn’t see that one hit necessarily brings the necessary relaxation to the 22-year-old New York Rangers winger.
– I’ve gotten to know Kaapo pretty well, so yes, his game is purely about forcing. It lacks the relaxation, rhythm and determination that he gets through confidence.
– I don’t think that one goal will help that. It seems that he has a terrible frenzy to show the people of Finland that he has developed incredibly over the course of four years.
Lehkonen made a startling observation Mikko Rantanen from playing in the first chain. Rantanen collected three assist points in the match, but there is more behind the power.
Lehkonen calculated that the first chain created six goal chances in the match with five against five. Rantanen created five of them with his individual performances.
– Everyone saw that he is quite the guy in Ylikylä when he finds his own rhythm and starts to figure out how the other four are going.
– Even when Teemu Hartikainen and Sakari Manninen would get on the same wavelength. If the chain stays, and now it seems to stay together, this might develop into a real thing. The rails, routes and timings still don’t quite match.
2. Lions need electric shocks
Finland’s start against Hungary was tight. Thanks to their energy, Hungary persevered for two sets with the Lions, but in the final set they got into a blue-and-white washing machine. The Lions scored no fewer than five goals in the third period.
Although Leijonat got their goal account open, the first two periods were tight play.
– We all know what kind of players are in the group, what kind of expectations everyone has and what the group’s potential is. It feels like it’s sticky now. It feels like they need an electric shock in the ass, says Lehkonen.
– Finland is not even close to the level that the players expect.
Lehkonen reminds that the Olympic gold in Beijing and the world championship at the home games have raised expectations for these games. Those tournaments were their own kind of stories.
– Beijing had its own problems, but it looked energetic, fresh and determined. I wasn’t really worried about the home games, because then Finland progressed smoothly.
– But on this trip, the biggest problem is energy and leg strength. That is, that the game would go in Finland’s hands and the team would determine the tempo of the game all the time. This journey is now like this. There’s a lot of jumping here.
3. Different Lions in the playoffs
The Lions have wins against Hungary, France and Germany and losses against Sweden and the United States from the five matches of the first group.
According to Lehkonen, in the first half before the game against Hungary, it was visible how the opponents defended closely and tried with all possible means to break Finland’s puck game.
– They have succeeded really well in that.
The game has been tight.
– After this game against Hungary, I definitely trust that the potential in the group will be unearthed during this week. When the playoffs start, we will see different Lions.
Lehkonen reminds that Leijon has a really experienced group with many successful players.
– There are really many players in Finland who really want to win the championship at home. The need to achieve is huge.
– This is one of the most experienced teams of its age. It knows how to turn the screw in the right place when you are skiing towards the kasi game. I believe and trust that the Lions group will be ready then.
The Lions’ World Cup tournament continues on Saturday against Austria at 16:20. The match will be followed moment by moment in the application and on ‘s website.