Granlund scores in OT, Finland defeats Sweden at 4 Nations Face-Off

MONTREAL -- Mikael Granlund shot the puck.

"Good decision," Finland coach Antti Pennanen said.

Great for Finland.

Instead of looking for Aleksander Barkov or Niko Mikkola on a 3-on-1, Granlund got selfish at the right time. His shot from the right face-off circle found the back of the net 1:49 into overtime, and Finland stayed alive in the 4 Nations Face-Off with a 4-3 win against Sweden at Bell Centre on Saturday.

It was Finland’s first overtime goal in an NHL international tournament game.

"I finally shot one of those," Granlund said. "I'm glad it went in. Obviously, it was a tight game all around. Great job for us."

Anton Lundell, Mikko Rantanen and Barkov also scored for Finland (0-1-0-1), which trailed 3-2 in the second period. Patrik Laine had two assists, and Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves in his first start after he was the backup to Juuse Saros in a 6-1 loss to the United States on Thursday.

The overtime win put Finland in a tie for second in the 4 Nations Face-Off standings with Canada. Both teams have two points on overtime wins after Canada lost 3-1 in regulation to the United States on Saturday.

It also guaranteed all four teams in the tournament will still be in contention when they play at TD Garden in Boston on Monday to reach the championship game on Feb. 20. A regulation loss would have eliminated Finland.

"It's always great to beat Sweden," Granlund said. "Those games are fun to play. There's so many people in Finland, in Sweden to watch these games. It's great to come (out) on top, and at the same time we are alive in this tournament. Everything is in our own hands."

Mika Zibanejad, Rasmus Dahlin and Erik Karlsson scored for Sweden (0-0-2-0), which also lost 4-3 in overtime to Canada on Wednesday.

Linus Ullmark took over in goal at the start of the second and made 15 saves in relief of Filip Gustavsson, who allowed two goals on four shots in the first period.

Sweden coach Sam Hallam said Gustavsson wasn't feeling well after the first period, which is why he made the switch.

"I don't think today we played as good as we were hoping to," Karlsson said. "I don't think that we reached the standards that we have set on ourselves in that room. Finland played a great game. They capitalized on a lot of loose pucks and created a lot offense through their transition, and when they got their opportunities they scored some goals. Good for them. They played a [good] game.

“Overall, though, I don't think that we're too satisfied with the way that we went through the 60-plus minutes."

Sweden, though, was happy with its start, a reversal from Wednesday when Canada scored a power-play goal less than a minute into the game and held a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Zibanejad gave Sweden a 1-0 lead at 8:35 of the first period, scoring off a Finland defensive-zone turnover with a shot from between the circles.

"We started the game the way we wanted to and got paid for it," Hallam said.

Finland tied it 1-1 just 2:23 later when Lundell scored at 10:58 off a 2-on-1 with Eetu Luostarinen and Florida Panthers teammate Gustav Forsling the lone Swede back.

"I think we give up a really simple situation to Finland's first goal, and I think the game changed a bit there," Hallam said. "We were playing confident, playing quick, finding good ways with the puck. After that, I think Finland got a bit of hope, a bit of jump in their game."

Finland also got a power play at 19:34, when Victor Hedman was called for tripping Sebastian Aho.

Rantanen cashed in 12 seconds later, giving Finland a 2-1 lead at 19:46 with a nearly flubbed one-timer off Laine's pass across to him in the right circle. The puck fluttered and snuck between Gustavsson and the right post.

"The pass on that power-play goal, that's an elite pass," Granlund said of Laine.

Sweden tied it 2-2 on Dahlin's goal at 5:06 of the second. Lucas Raymond's shot from the point got through and Joel Eriksson Ek, with only his right hand on his stick, was able to find the rebound and slide the puck across to Dahlin.

Karlsson then gave Sweden a 3-2 lead with a goal off a 3-on-2 rush at 10:32. He raced to catch up with William Nylander, who had space and found Karlsson in the right circle for a one-timer.

Finland countered again with Barkov scoring off a deflection in front at 17:05 to make it 3-3. Rantanen made a spin-o-rama pass from the top of the left circle to Olli Maatta on the right side. He passed the puck toward the far post, and it hit off Kaapo Kakko's stick blade and went in off Barkov's stick blade.

That was Kakko's first shift with Barkov and Rantanen. He replaced Artturi Lehkonen on that line, a move that paid immediate dividends.

"He started really well so that was the one reason why we needed to put him on the first line," Pennanen said of Kakko. "Some fresh legs and he can win the battles, and as we saw he can go to the net. That was one change we needed."

The third period was fairly even, though Pennanen said he liked the fact Finland did not allow Grade-A looks.

But Sweden got one early in overtime; Lankinen had to come up with a right pad save on Zibanejad six seconds in.

Adrian Kempe also had a chance 11 seconds before Granlund scored, but Lankinen kept the puck out with his left skate. Mikkola pulled it out of the crease and sent it up to Granlund to start the 3-on-1.

"Honestly, I don't expect 'Granny' to shoot when it's 3-on-1," Barkov said, "but it's really good that [he did]."

NOTES: Kakko, a healthy scratch against the U.S. on Thursday, had the assist on Barkov's goal and two shots on goal in 13:13 of ice time. … The only other Sweden-Finland game in an NHL international tournament that required overtime happened in the round robin of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. It ended in a 4-4 tie. … Dahlin blocked a game-high six shots in 18:42.