Oliver Kapanen may not have played as much as he would have liked at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, but going home with a bronze medal will make the experience well worth it for the Montreal Canadiens rookie. While Kapanen was dressed for two of Finland’s games before the bronze medal matchup, he did not get a single minute of ice time. That changed in Finland’s final game of the tournament, in large part due to an injury to their star winger Mikko Rantanen, allowing Kapanen to make his Olympic debut and help his nation go home with a medal.
Taking home the bronze medal
Just over 24 hours after a crushing loss to Canada, Finland had to find a way to regroup ahead of their matchup against Slovakia, which had upset them in the opening game of the tournament, thanks to a spectacular performance from Kapanen’s Canadiens teammate Juraj Slafkovsky. After not playing in the entire tournament, Kapanen went from the 13th forward in the lineup to taking Rantanen’s spot on the team’s top line, alongside Sebastian Aho and former Canadien Artturi Lehkonen.
Finland struck first, and despite Kapanen not recording a point on the play, his position in front of the net drew the defender's attention away from Aho, who was waiting at the back post to pick up the loose rebound, sliding it into the open goal. Kapanen did not look out of place on the first line, which had many analysts questioning why he was not given the opportunity to play earlier in the tournament.
After trading goals in the second period, Finland took over in the third. After Slovakia took a penalty 39 seconds into the third period, Kapanen had a chance to give them a two-goal lead, but his effort rang off the post. Finland did put the game out of reach a couple of minutes later, scoring two goals in 40 seconds, ending Slovakia’s dream of winning back-to-back bronze medals. The game ended 6-1 in favour of Finland, with Kapanen finishing his Olympic debut with one total shot and just over 16 minutes of ice time. Despite not recording a point, Kapanen will return to Montreal with a smile on his face and a bronze medal around his neck.
Canadiens journey continues
Kapanen will not get a lot of time to celebrate with his Olympic teammates. The NHL schedule resumes on February 25th, but after getting his first taste of glory, the Canadiens will be hoping they are getting a highly motivated player for the final stretch of the season. While he did not play a massive role in Finland’s quest to reach the bronze medal game, he is an integral part of the Canadiens lineup. Kapanen and Slafkovsky are going from adversaries to linemates, and the Canadiens are hoping they can pick up where they left off before the Olympic break.
The “Kid Line” of Kapanen, Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov has arguably been the Canadiens best line since coming together when the team was battling through injury. While Demidov did not get an opportunity to showcase his talents on the Olympic stage, Kapanen and Slafkovsky will be returning from Italy with added confidence, and that could not come at a better time, with the playoffs just around the corner.