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  • In total, Finland medaled in four of the five Olympics that included NHL players, taking bronze in 1998, 2010 and 2014, and silver in 2006.

  • Finland has three 20-goal scorers this season: Mikko Rantanen (26), Artturi Lehkonen (22) and Roope Hintz (22). Lehkonen’s 22 goals are already a single-season career high, passing the 21 he had in 64 games in 2022-23.

  • Sebastian Aho has scored 20 goals in each of his first nine seasons. The only Finnish players with longer streaks to begin an NHL career are Jari Kurri (13) and Teemu Selanne (11).

  • Rantanen’s 1.09 career points per game is second-highest all time among Finnish players, behind only Kurri (1.12). The trio of Kurri (1.12), Rantanen (1.09) and Selanne (1.00) are the only Finns to average at least a point per game in their NHL careers (minimum 10 NHL games).

  • Juuse Saros has 117 wins since 2021-22, which is sixth in the NHL. Two of the five ahead of him are in this tournament: Connor Hellebuyck (USA) is first with 137, and Jake Oettinger (USA) is tied for second with Andrei Vasilevskiy at 128. Igor Shesterkin is fourth, with 127.

Picks for the game

Total goals under 5.5 (+115): Considering how superbly he’s performed all season, Connor Hellebuyck — the heavy Vezina Trophy favorite — doesn’t appear in position to concede many to a Finnish squad that’s likely to rely on cohesive chemistry and stingy team defense to keep Game 1 tight. So that leaves us with the burning question of how badly, or not, does Finland starter Juuse Saros get lit up in Montreal against the high-powered Americans?

Perhaps not badly at all. Again, even without blue-line star Miro Heiskanen, Finland’s defense — including Esa Lindell, Niko Mikkola, Olli Maatta, and Jusso Valimaki — will concentrate on stifling as many high quality chances as possible, helping out their array of two-way forwards.

Historically solid under pressure, the 29-year-old Saros will relish the opportunity to make something positive out of what’s been the worst season of his career in Nashville. Guaranteed he’s all over the idea of playing spoiler against an American squad that’s expected to ruthlessly run over the tournament underdog.

Anytime goal scorer Kyle Connor (+220): Skating on a scoring line with center Jack Eichel and winger Matthew Tkachuk, as well as the secondary power play, the Jets sniper is going to find the back of the net this tournament. Prone to scoring in bunches, Connor is coming off a three-game drought heading into The 4 Nations Face-Off, which sets the table for an explosive start in Montreal. Again, skating on a line with Eichel is a convincing element here. — Victoria Matiash