Finland vs. Sweden: How to Watch, Lines, Betting Odds

Much attention going into today’s action at the 4 Nations Face-Off surrounds the night game, but Rivalry Day kicks off this afternoon with a juicy matchup between Finland and Sweden.

The two countries sit side by side and have been rivals for, well, safe to say a couple of years.

Centuries?

Whatever.

“It’s a brotherly kind of love-and-hate relationship going back for a long time,” Sweden coach Sam Hallam said.

“You want to beat your brother. That’s the way it is. We have tons of respect for the way they play the game, the character they have. That goes for hockey and that goes for life, too. Look at where they are on the map, and they never back down.”

“If you want to win against one opponent,’’ Florida’s Anton Lundell said, “you want to win against Sweden for sure. There’s always been that between us.’’

Although Saturday’s opener of the 4 Nations starts at 1 in Montreal, Finland vs. Sweden will be in primetime across the Atlantic — and should do monster numbers.

Both teams are coming off losses in their 4 Nations openers, although in much different fashions.

Sweden ended up losing on Mitch Marner’s overtime goal on Wednesday night; Finland was down 2-1 going into the third on Thursday, but Team USA got two goals from Matthew Tkachuk in the third and rolled to a 6-1 win.

Both teams need a win, for sure, but that one point Sweden picked up by losing in overtime could end up big if it wins today and Team USA beats Canada in the much anticipated nightcap.

Of course, it’s more than that.

“It’s history,” Sweden defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said according to AP. “It’s something that means a lot to the Swedish nation. It’s a must-win.”

4 NATIONS FACE-OFF NOTES

• How to Watch: Today’s game is available on ABC and can be streamed on ESPN+. In Canada, tune into Sportsnet and TVAS.
• Starting Goalies: Finland will go with Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen in its second game after Juuse Saros started the opener. Sweden is expected to start Filip Gustavsson.
• NHL Betting Odds: Sweden is a slight favorite on the money line (-200) at the local book. To with with Sweden, a $200 bet pays $100; If you think the Finland Panthers will win, $100 gets $155.

ON DECK

FINLAND v. SWEDEN

• When: Today, 1 p.m.
• Where: Bell Centre, Montreal
• National TV: ABC
• Streaming: ESPN+
• Radio: NHL Network SiriusXM
• Betting Odds — Sweden Favored: Money Line (-200); Puck line (-1.5, +130); Over/Under 5.5 (-105/-115)

4 NATIONS FACE-OFF SCHEDULE

At Bell Centre, Montreal

• Wednesday: Canada 4, Sweden 3 (OT)
• Thursday: United States 6, Finland 1
• Today: Finland vs. Sweden, 1 p.m. (ABC, ESPN+); United States vs. Canada, 8 p.m. (ABC, ESPN+)

At TD Garden, Boston

• Monday: Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m. (TNT/truTV, Max); Sweden vs. United States, 8 p.m. (TNT/truTV, Max)
• Thursday: Championship game, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN+)

Standings

• 1. United States 3 points
• 2. Canada 2
• 3. Sweden 1
• 4. Finland 0

PROJECTED TEAM SWEDEN (0-0-1, 1 point) LINES

88 William Nylander (TOR) // 93 Mika Zibanejad (NYR) // 67 Rickard Rakell (PGH)

10 Adrian Kempe (LAK) // 40 Elias Pettersson (VAN) // 9 Filip Forsberg (NSH)

63 Jesper Bratt (NJD) // 20 Joel Eriksson Ek (MIN) // 23 Lucas Raymond (DET)

12 Gustav Nyquist (NSH) // 28 Elias Lindholm (BOS) // 33 Viktor Arvidsson (EDM)

77 Victor Hedman (TBL) // 25 Jonas Brodin (MIN)

14 Mattias Ekholm (EDM) // 65 Erik Karlsson (PGH)

26 Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) // 42 Gus Forsling (FLA)

32 Filip Gustavsson (MIN)

35 Linus Ullmark (OTT)

Scratched: Leo Carlsson (ANA), Rasmus Andersson (CGY), Samuel Ersson (PHL)

Injured: none

PROJECTED TEAM FINLAND (0-1-0, 0 points) LINES

62 Artturi Lehkonen (COL) // 16 Sasha Barkov (FLA) // 96 Mikko Rantanen (CAR)

24 Roope Hintz (DAL) // 20 Sebastian Aho (CAR) //92 Patrik Laine (MON)

27 Eetu Luostarinen (FLA) // 15 Anton Lundell (FLA) // 64 Mikael Granlund (DAL)

86 Teuvo Teravainen (CHI) //56 Erik Haula (NJD) // 40 Joel Armia (MON)

77 Niko Mikkola (FLA) // 23 Esa Lindell (DAL)

18 Urho Vaakanainen (NYR) // 33 Nikolas Matinpalo (OTT)

3 Olli Maatta (UTE) // 10 Henri Jokiharju (BUF)

32 Kevin Lankinen (VAN)

74 Juuse Saros (DAL)

Scratched: Juuso Valimaki (UTE), Kaapo Kakko (SEA), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF)

Injured: None

Team USA and Finland Projected Lines Courtesy NHL.com