United States vs. Finland
How to watch
Puck drop: 10:30 PM EST / 7:30 PM PST
In Canada: TSN1, TSN5 (English)
In the United States: NHL Network
Live stream: TSN Direct
Team USA sits one point up on Finland in the Group B standings in the battle for second place. That fight will move from the standings table to the ice tonight with a critical game in the preliminary round’s finale.
A win will mean a quarter-final matchup versus one of the bottom two seeds from Group A. A loss will set up a very difficult meeting with either Canada or Russia on Wednesday, and that’s something worth putting everything on the line to avoid.
With a bug going around the group playing in Victoria, both K’Andre Miller and Kyle Keyser are unable to play, along with an injured Jack Hughes, who misses a third game of the main showcase event for his draft year. The absences mean only six defencemen will play tonight, and Montreal Canadiens prospect Cayden Primeau gets his second start in goal.
Ryan Poehling will be one of the players turned to for the United States. He and Oliver Wahlstrom took over the game versus Sweden on Saturday, turn a 4-0 deficit into a 4-4 tie in the second half of the third period. The team ultimately fell in overtime, but it was an incredible performance that won’t soon be forgotten, and one that should give the team confidence no matter what situation arises tonight.
Finland is no slouch in this tournament, either. Perhaps not quite as prolific as pre-tournament predictions suggested, they still have a roster full of talent, and strong defensive play to keep the best US forwards contained.
The teams will know which club has finished second in Group A around the time of puck drop for the game, so the consequences of a loss will be apparent from early on. With the quality of the teams and the importance of the game, the final match ahead of the playoff round could prove to be the World Junior Hockey Championship’s best so far.
Team USA projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #28 Joel Farabee | #14 Josh Norris | #15 Jason Robertson |
| #21 Noah Cates | #17 Evan Barratt | #9 Tyler Madden |
| #12 Logan Cockerill | #11 Ryan Poehling | #18 Oliver Wahlstrom |
| #19 Jack Drury | #8 Sasha Chmelevski | #16 Jay O’Brien |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #4 Dylan Samberg | #26 Mikey Anderson |
| #7 Quinn Hughes | #25 Phil Kemp |
| #24 Mattias Samuelsson | #2 Jack St. Ivany |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #30 Cayden Primeau |
| #29 Spencer Knight |
Team Finland projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #23 Linus Nyman | #19 Rasmus Kupari | #10 Aleksi Heponiemi |
| #24 Kaapo Kakko | #29 Anton Lundell | #20 Eeli Tolvanen |
| #25 Aarne Talvitie | #22 Santeri Virtanen | #27 Jesse Ylönen |
| #28 Sami Moilanen | #12 Samuli Vainionpää | #13 Valtteri Puustinen |
| #18 Teemu Engberg |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #15 Henri Jokiharju | #34 Ville Heinola |
| #2 Oskari Laaksonen | #7 Urho Vaakanainen |
| #3 Toni Utunen | #21 Otto Latvala |
| #36 Anttoni Honka |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| #31 Filip Lindberg |
