Starting a pivotal 4 Nations Face-Off matchup vs. Canada, Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen was pulled by Finland and replaced by Juuse Saros after allowing four goals on 13 shots.
Lankinen, 29, took over as Finland's starting goalie after Saros allowed six goals in a 6-1 loss to the United States on Thursday night. Making his first start of the 4 Nations against Sweden, Lankinen saved 21 of 24 shots for an unimpressive .875 save percentage, but also managed to make a number of high-danger saves, including one against Adrian Kempe in overtime that sprung Mikael Granlund down the right wing to score the eventual game-winner.
The Canucks' backup goalie never appeared to fully settle in against Canada, failing to get square to Connor McDavid for the game's opening goal. Nathan MacKinnon beat Lankinen clean from the right circle only seconds later, and Brayden Point would make it 3-0 on a rebound before the end of the first period.
Lankinen surprisingly survived the first intermission, but was pulled shortly after the start of the middle frame following MacKinnon's second goal of the afternoon. Sidney Crosby made an excellent pass to set MacKinnon up for the goal, but it was another shot that seemingly caught the Finn by surprise from a poor angle.
Before making way for Saros, Lankinen made nine saves on 13 shots in 25:02 in just over a period of action. Canada remains up 4-0 at the time of this writing and Finland will be eliminated from the 4 Nations with a regulation loss. On the other hand, if Canada wins in regulation, they will face the U.S. in the 4 Nations final.