Patrik Laine has set the table for the 4 Nations Confrontation which will take place from February 12 to 20.
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Called upon to describe the rivalry between Finland, his native country, and Sweden, the Montreal Canadiens striker did not go through all the hassles.
“We hate them,” he admitted bluntly. That’s not bad. There is nothing more to say. It started long before I was born.”
Finland and Sweden will cross swords in Montreal on Saturday, February 15. This will be the second match of the competition for the two countries, a meeting which risks having a big impact on the future of things.
“It’s always been a rivalry. Whether it’s hockey or something else. We always want to be better than them. I feel like it’s a bit the same thing between the United States and Canada.”
-Laine will have the opportunity to defend his country’s colors for the first time since the World Cup in 2016. It was just before his first season in the National Hockey League (NHL).
During the tournament, he was shut out in three games. This did not prevent him from having an excellent rookie season with the Winnipeg Jets, collecting 36 goals and 64 points in 73 games.
For the 4 Nations Showdown, he will have the opportunity to reconnect with his good friend Aleksander Barkov for the first time within the national team since this famous World Cup. The two players had also defended the colors of Finland the previous year during the World Championship in which Laine had amazed the hockey world with a harvest of 7 goals and 12 points in 10 games.
“I’ve known him forever. We had a similar journey, but he did it three years before me. The first time we played together was at the world championships my draft year. Since then, we have been training together during the summer. We live very close to each other and he was a groomsman at my wedding.”
Besides Laine, forward Joel Armia will also be part of the Finnish squad for the event.
All matches will be presented on TVA Sports.
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