Sweden is third in the 4 Nations Face-Off standings with one point it earned in a 4-3 overtime loss to Canada on Wednesday. Finland lost 6-1 to the U.S. on Thursday and will be eliminated from contention to be in the final if they lose to Sweden in regulation.

Both teams enter the matchup with knowledge of the historic rivalry but also know the importance of staying alive in the tournament.

MONTREAL — Kevin Lankinen will start in net for Finland against Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday after Juuse Saros allowed six goals on 32 shots in a 6-1 loss to the United States in each team's tournament opener, coach Antti Pennanen said.

The two last faced each other in the IIHF World Championship in 2019. Finland defeated Sweden 5-4 in overtime in the quarterfinals and went on to win gold; Lankinen allowed four goals on 18 shots in that game, including one by Pettersson. “As of now we’re not teammates for a week,” Lankinen said. “But maybe when we get back, we’ll talk more.”

If Sam Hallam wants to rile up a Finn of a certain age about Swedish hockey, he’ll just bring up Anders “Masken” Carlsson. For a younger generation, it’s Mats Sundin.

Finland versus Sweden will also be a must-watch for Canucks fans as Lankinen will face off against Elias Pettersson. In his first game for Sweden, Pettersson recorded a shot, a hit and a blocked shot in 16:32 of ice time. Puck drop for Finland versus Sweden is set for 10:00 am PT and can be viewed on Sportsnet.

The 4 Nations Face-Off continues as we continue our 4 Nations Face-Off odds series with a Finland-Sweden prediction and pick.

Finland will start goaltender Kevin Lankinen for Saturday's important tilt against Sweden, head coach Antti Pennanen confirmed to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.Juuse Saros started Thursday's opener against the United States,

Sweden did well just to force overtime vs. Canada after falling into an early 2-0 hole in their 4 Nations Face-Off opener. Now they'll get a drop in class vs. Finland and should capitalize, as Neil Parker explains.