GDT: Group B - May 6 - Latvia vs Finland

[Lempo]

That old latvian dude coming to congratulate a finn wearing a ****ing condomsuit, such class

I think the blue man was shown being amiable with equally amiable Latvian fans around mid-game, may have been a continuation to that.

 

[Saekk]

I think the blue man was shown being amiable with equally amiable Latvian fans around mid-game, may have been a continuation to that.

Yeah, his friend in the lion suit with superman boxers on top of it was dancing with latvian kids and waving their flag earlier, lol.

 

[BalticWarrior]

well, it is not like even if we won 8-1, anyone would put us among elite teams, so our status is kinda set in stone. everyone seem to be too snobbish to care beyond top 5-7 teams anyway.

Im more interested in not what fans of other countriea think of our team but what OUR fans do.

 

[Lempo]

I like Nupe on Cmore studio. Talked about the goalie pain when you let the first shot in. "They say, you're a pro, you have to know how to shake it off. Well, why don't you come try."

 

[Mestaruus]

Well, true enough but it's pretty much always like this - usually (though not for couple of last years) Finland is a totally different team against the big countries with really tight defense and the sloppiness and frustration against the weaker teams is forgotten. These sort of flowing hockey porn games though are actually quite unprecedented for us...

Indeed. These are just exhibition games and our tournament starts with the Canada game and we are the underdogs in that and vs USA probably underdogs as well. Euro size rink is what helps Finland there.

 

[Reynys]

Im more interested in not what fans of other countriea think of our team but what OUR fans do.

then you shouldn't worry ether as our fans know very well what we are capable of.

 

[googleIsMyFriend]

Team Finland seems to be a strong one this year. Young, hungry and highly talented. This is almost our olympic roster....

 

[jonlin]

Team Finland seems to be a strong one this year. Young, hungry and highly talented. This is almost our olympic roster....

Barkov, Koivu, Lindell, Ristolainen, Haula, Laine, Donskoi, Vatanen, Armia, Määttä, Rask, Rinne, Raanta just are missing. Thats 13 sure players. Then we can make a case for MaG, Lehkonen, komarov, Puljujärvi, Filppula, Lehterä aso.

 

[aonb]

Any words on Roberts Bukarts? i see Rihards as a goal scorer today but older Roberts always impress me more

 

[Ippenator]

Barkov, Koivu, Lindell, Ristolainen, Haula, Laine, Donskoi, Vatanen, Armia, Määttä, Rask, Rinne, Raanta just are missing. Thats 13 sure players. Then we can make a case for MaG, Lehkonen, komarov, Puljujärvi, Filppula, Lehterä aso.

Komarov has said that his national team days are over.

 

[Vohaul]

Man that Aho line is just beasting. Aho is just an amazing player and easily my second fav young finn after Laine. These two guys just have that certain something.. skill combined with confidence and killers instinct. Teuvo is a great player too with great vision.. some of those passes he does are damn brilliant.

I hope Grandlund, Rantanen and Kapanen are still just adjusting, as others said their season continued longer than the Carolina duo and they didnt attend any practise matches.. plenty of skill on that line too.

Anyway, obviously not the best game for Latvia but the only way is up from this. I bet they'll step up. Always had plenty of respect for The Latvian teams and fans.. always tenacious and fighting hard.. never making it easy even for the top teams..

 

[Vohaul]

Komarov has said that his national team days are over.

Yeah he did say that.
I dont think theres a place for Komarov on a best on best Finnish team anymore anyway.. he was an important role and depth player for the team in past but he's just not that skilled and there are better options in my opinion. Well he is good at annoying the opposing players..

 

[jonlin]

Our A-team would be something like this:

Aho-Barkov-TT
Laine-Granlund-Rantanen
Haula-Koivu-Armia
Kapanen-Filppula-Donskoi

Ristolainen-Lindell
Nutivaara-Vatanen
Määttä-Heiskanen
Honka

Raanta
Rask
Rinne

Reserve: Lehkonen, Puljujärvi, Tolvanen, Niku, Salomäki, Hännikäinen

 

[Bruce Granville]

Our A-team would be something like this:

Aho-Barkov-TT
Laine-Granlund-Rantanen
Haula-Koivu-Armia
Kapanen-Filppula-Donskoi

Ristolainen-Lindell
Nutivaara-Vatanen
Määttä-Heiskanen
Honka

Raanta
Rask
Rinne

Reserve: Lehkonen, Puljujärvi, Tolvanen, Niku, Salomäki, Hännikäinen

Haula is a C, Granlund a winger, Ristolainen plays RD and Lindell LD.
How should you know...

 

[jonlin]

Haula is a C, Granlund a winger, Ristolainen plays RD and Lindell LD.
How should you know...

Nitpicking? I just listed the players that will be in. Aho could also play center, as he is doing now. So does Granlund in this WC. Haula has played both LW and C.

 

[kelsier]

Our A-team would be something like this:

Aho-Barkov-TT
Laine-Granlund-Rantanen
Haula-Koivu-Armia
Kapanen-Filppula-Donskoi

Ristolainen-Lindell
Nutivaara-Vatanen
Määttä-Heiskanen
Honka

Raanta
Rask
Rinne

Reserve: Lehkonen, Puljujärvi, Tolvanen, Niku, Salomäki, Hännikäinen

There's no way I would play Aho anywhere other than in the middle. Granlund's weakness is in the mobility and he can never be the same level of two-way player as Aho. That's why he was moved from the the center to play wing in the NHL in the begin with (less physicality & two-way responsibilities). Aho on the other hand is more than likely to start next season as a C where he belongs. I remember the Carolina coach stating something like "one more season in the wing.." last year. While his stature may look deceiving, he's actually pretty strong player. Also I would guess you'd want your best playmaker to play with your best goal scorer, so we'd be looking at either Laine - Aho - X or X - Aho - Laine. We already know how deadly these two can be together from the WJC 2016. As long as Barkov and Aho stay healthy, the country will have two elite or franchise level centers for the best vs best tournaments and that's something we've never had before.

I'd expect that lineup to meet some changes in the coming years.

 

[Snowsii]

There's no way I would play Aho anywhere other than in the middle. Granlund's weakness is in the mobility and he can never be the same level of two-way player as Aho. That's why he was moved from the the center to play wing in the NHL in the begin with (less physicality & two-way responsibilities). Aho on the other hand is more than likely to start next season as a C where he belongs. I remember the Carolina coach stating something like "one more season in the wing.." last year. While his stature may look deceiving, he's actually pretty strong player. Also I would guess you'd want your best playmaker to play with your best goal scorer, so we'd be looking at either Laine - Aho - X or X - Aho - Laine. We already know how deadly these two can be together from the WJC 2016. As long as Barkov and Aho stay healthy, the country will have two elite or franchise level centers for the best vs best tournaments and that's something we've never had before.

I'd expect that lineup to meet some changes in the coming years.

I would put Laine with Barkov, and then Tolvanen with Aho & Teräväinen. IMO; Tolvanen suits better the playstyle Aho and Teräväinen plays.

 

[kelsier]

I would put Laine with Barkov, and then Tolvanen with Aho & Teräväinen. IMO; Tolvanen suits better the playstyle Aho and Teräväinen plays.

I'm not sure if Teuvo has a place in the best vs best roster in the grand scheme of things (not sure if he has the physics). The other huge minus with me with that line would be the lack of size. It's normally better when spread. One can probably make all kinds of alternations and still not go much wrong though.

 

[jonlin]

I would put Laine with Barkov, and then Tolvanen with Aho & Teräväinen. IMO; Tolvanen suits better the playstyle Aho and Teräväinen plays.

I would not put Tolvanen with Aho and TT. He lacks the physic and the trio would get bulldozzered. If you want to play Aho as C I`d go with this:

Granlund-Barkov-Rantanen
Laine-Aho-Teräväinen
Tolvanen-Haula-Donskoi (If Tolvanen makes it this would be a very fast line)
Kapanen-Koivu-Armia

 

[Reynys]

Any words on Roberts Bukarts? i see Rihards as a goal scorer today but older Roberts always impress me more

Roberts has been pretty mediocre in these two games imo, can't really single him out.

 

[Bruce Granville]

Nitpicking? I just listed the players that will be in. Aho could also play center, as he is doing now. So does Granlund in this WC. Haula has played both LW and C.

Or you put together 4 offensive lines and 3 defensive pairs and not a list.
With Koivu and Filppula highly unlikely to join the national team again it will become even harder to find 4 centers.
And a team should have 4 centers.

 

[aonb]

Roberts has been pretty mediocre in these two games imo, can't really single him out.

Strange thing. He was a beast in exhibition games. So who did well for Team Latvia so far?

 

[Snowsii]

I would not put Tolvanen with Aho and TT. He lacks the physic and the trio would get bulldozzered. If you want to play Aho as C I`d go with this:

Granlund-Barkov-Rantanen
Laine-Aho-Teräväinen
Tolvanen-Haula-Donskoi (If Tolvanen makes it this would be a very fast line)
Kapanen-Koivu-Armia

That's why i would rather use Tolvanen with Aho and Teräväinen. Laine is slower player, and so is Barkov.

 

[Reynys]

Strange thing. He was a beast in exhibition games. So who did well for Team Latvia so far?

here is my somewhat positive takeaways from first 2 games:
Rodrigo Abols has been very active, getting a lot of shots on net
ofc our hero and savior Balcers, been active aswell.
Indrasis has been among the our best puckhandlers, seems very confident with the puck.
Kenins and Karsums has been physical.
Redlihs has had some good moments, although lack of physicality is hindering his play.
Balinskis has been pretty reliable on Defence compared to few others.
to me seems like Razgals is really trying, but lacks experience to make right decisions sometimes.