Finland vs Czech Republic. Will the Finns become the best in group B?
On the final day of the game stage, the hosts of the tournament, the hockey players of the Finnish national team, will play with the Czech national team. The meeting will be held on May 24 in Tampere.
For the ninth time, Finland hosts the Ice Hockey World Championship, while the maximum that the hosts achieved was to finish one step away from the podium three times, taking the final fourth place. The current championship may well become a kind of breakthrough, according to most experts, it is the Finnish team that is the main contender for gold medals. There is everything for this, just three months ago, with almost the same line-up, Jukka Jalonen took the gold of the Olympic Games, defeating the Russian team in the final. Also, the team was strengthened by several hockey players from the NHL, including quite stellar Heiskanen, Lindell, Granlund.
The group stage only confirmed the Finns in the status of the tournament favorite. At the moment, the hosts of the tournament have five wins and one loss in overtime, which is equal to 16 points in total. The only misfire occurred in the match against the Swedish national team, when the Swedes were able to transform a 2-2 draw into a final victory in the shootout series. The goal difference is impressive - 22:5, the Finns are by far the best in the defensive game championship, and in terms of the number of goals scored they are second only to the Swiss team. The victory in regular time over the Czechs guarantees the Finnish national team a final place in Group B, with any other result, Jukka Jalonen's wards may be second.
Czech Republic
The long-suffering Czech team, which is rather inertia before each major tournament, is named among the contenders for medals, and at the current championship has already managed to create a sensation with a minus sign. In a match against a noteworthy outsider, the Austrian national team, the Czechs were able to score only one abandoned puck, bringing the game to a series of post-match shootouts, where they successfully lost to the Austrians. Given the defeat of 3-5 from the Swedes, the Czechs have painted themselves into a corner, risking being left without a playoff.
Save the team was called David Pasternak, perhaps the best Czech striker at the moment. The Boston Bruins star jumped right into action, scoring three goals and two assists in two games played. Two victories in a row - 5:1 over Latvia and 4:1 over Norway allowed the Czechs to return to the top four of the strongest teams in Group B, practically guaranteeing a place in the playoffs of the World Championship. In the two remaining matches, against the US and Finland, the Czechs only need to score one point.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Finland vs Czech Republic
FinlandFor the ninth time, Finland hosts the Ice Hockey World Championship, while the maximum that the hosts achieved was to finish one step away from the podium three times, taking the final fourth place. The current championship may well become a kind of breakthrough, according to most experts, it is the Finnish team that is the main contender for gold medals. There is everything for this, just three months ago, with almost the same line-up, Jukka Jalonen took the gold of the Olympic Games, defeating the Russian team in the final. Also, the team was strengthened by several hockey players from the NHL, including quite stellar Heiskanen, Lindell, Granlund.
The group stage only confirmed the Finns in the status of the tournament favorite. At the moment, the hosts of the tournament have five wins and one loss in overtime, which is equal to 16 points in total. The only misfire occurred in the match against the Swedish national team, when the Swedes were able to transform a 2-2 draw into a final victory in the shootout series. The goal difference is impressive - 22:5, the Finns are by far the best in the defensive game championship, and in terms of the number of goals scored they are second only to the Swiss team. The victory in regular time over the Czechs guarantees the Finnish national team a final place in Group B, with any other result, Jukka Jalonen's wards may be second.
Czech Republic
The long-suffering Czech team, which is rather inertia before each major tournament, is named among the contenders for medals, and at the current championship has already managed to create a sensation with a minus sign. In a match against a noteworthy outsider, the Austrian national team, the Czechs were able to score only one abandoned puck, bringing the game to a series of post-match shootouts, where they successfully lost to the Austrians. Given the defeat of 3-5 from the Swedes, the Czechs have painted themselves into a corner, risking being left without a playoff.
Save the team was called David Pasternak, perhaps the best Czech striker at the moment. The Boston Bruins star jumped right into action, scoring three goals and two assists in two games played. Two victories in a row - 5:1 over Latvia and 4:1 over Norway allowed the Czechs to return to the top four of the strongest teams in Group B, practically guaranteeing a place in the playoffs of the World Championship. In the two remaining matches, against the US and Finland, the Czechs only need to score one point.
Comments 0