Finland-Belarus: Teemu Selanne Ties Olympic Record, Helps Team to 5-1 Victory

As is typically the case in first round Olympic matchups, the game between Group C opponents Finland and Belarus was largely a "men vs. boys" affair.

Finland skated to a 5-1 win over Belarus on Wednesday afternoon, outshooting them 45-12 in the process.

Recap

Olli Jokinen opened the scoring in the first period with a power-play goal assisted by Teemu Selanne.

The assist marked Selanne's 36th point in Olympic competition, tying him for first all-time in scoring with former Czech player and IIHF Hall of Famer Vlastimil Bubnik.

Niklas Hagman's power-play goal at 2:10 in the first period gave Finland a two-goal advantage.

Twenty-one seconds into the second period, Montreal Canadian forward Sergei Kostitsyn put Belarus on the board after converting on an ill-advised pass by Finnish defenseman Lasse Kukkonen, beating goalie Miikka Kiprsuoff on the far side.

At 16:52 in the second, Hagman made several nice moves around defenders before beating Belarusian goalie Vitali Koval with a back-hand shot that gave Finland a 3-1 going into the second intermission.

History repeated itself in the third as Finland's Valtteri Filppula scored 23 seconds into the period.

Jarkko Ruutu scored his first ever Olympic goal at 12:59 deflecting a wrist shot from Finnish defender Kukkonen, capping the scoring for the game.

Analysis

Despite being dominated for virtually the entire contest, Belarus executed a solid penalty kill, denying four of six attempts by Finland.  No. 2 goalie Koval had an exceptionally strong outing, stopping 40 of 45 shots.

Finland started exceptionally strong, and Belarus didn't register a shot until 12:35 in the first period.

They weren't as sharp during the second, and had they been facing a more daunting opponent, things could have proved quite problematic.

Mikko Koivu emerged as the best player of the game, totalling three assists.  The Minnesota Wild captain may evolve into Finland's secret weapon as his more famous teammates—brother Saku, Jokinen, and Selanne among others—will draw the most attention from opposing defenders.

Koivu is big, fast, and possesses outstanding hockey sense in addition to a penchant for scoring big goals. A strong Olympic outing may be the final step on his journey towards superstar status in the NHL.

Another young Finnish forward, Detroit Red Wing Filppula, also had a strong outing where he scored a goal, created several good chances, and turned in a solid physical performance.

Looking Ahead

Finland's next game is Friday against Germany. 

Though Finland is again the favorite in this matchup, the strong defensive corps and underrated goaltending of Germany should provide a much tougher challenge than Belarus.

Florida Panthers defenseman Dennis Siedenberg and Vancouver Canucks blue-liner Christian Ehrhoff will likely assume the most responsibility against Finland's top players. The two are more than capable of handling the Finns' top forwards.

In goal, San Jose Sharks rookie Thomas Greiss has seen limited action for his NHL club this season, appearing in only 12 games, but the 24-year-old has a sound positional game and the calm, even demeanor exhibited by most No. 1 netminders.

Did You Know?

Despite being pegged as an offensively challenged team, Finland currently sports three of the top five Olympic scorers since the NHL began participating in 1998: Teemu Selanne (36), Saku Koivu (28), Jere Lehtinen (20).