‘It’s Finland against USA’: Barkov Set For 4 Nations Matchup Against Tkachuk

MONTREAL –– Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov will have to temporarily put their friendship aside.

The superstar duo, who were instrumental in leading the Panthers to its first Stanley Cup in franchise history last year, find themselves on opposite sides of the ice in what has already proved to be an exciting 4 Nations tournament. 

Tkachuk and team USA take on a Barkov captained Finnish squad at the Bell Centre on Thursday. 

“Obviously I know him really well now,” Barkov said of Tkachuk. “But when the puck drops, it’s Finland against USA. 

Tkachuk is the lone Panthers player representing the United States, but the same can’t be said for the Finns. 

Including Barkov, Finland has four Panthers on its roster: defenseman Nikko Mikkola, and forwards Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.

Some friendly chirps have already been laid out before puck drop, but only time will tell if that carries over to the ice. 

“We were joking just overall with all the [Panthers] guys in the tournament,” Lundell said when asked if there’s been any banter between the Panthers 4 Nations representatives. “I could see Barky going back and forth with [Tkachuk] a few times with some chirps.

On paper, Finland is an underdog in 4 Nations, largely because of its blueline that lost three players to injury before the teams arrived in Montreal. But as the Swedes showed on Wednesday — overcoming a two-goal deficit in the third to force overtime against Canada — this tournament is up for grabs.

Lundell and Luostarinen will look to lean on their chemistry from Florida when they take on the Americans. Finnish head coach Antti Pennanen opted to keep the two Stanley Cup champions together on a line. 

Barkov leads the way on the top forward unit — next to Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen —  and will man the blueline on power play 1. 

In addition to playing alongside Luostarinen, Lundell is expected too be on Finland’s second power play unit. 

Unlike Finland, the Americans don’t have many doubters. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if they return home champions, top to bottom, they have the deepest team in the tournament. 

However it’s easier said than done. The USA has long been searching for best-on-best international glory. 

Despite the United States’ success at the junior level — winning the past two World Junior Championships and four of the past nine — victory at the senior level hasn’t been there. 

Team USA hasn’t won an Olympic gold since 1980, and have failed to make the final in the past two NHL international tournaments, with their last win coming at the1996 World Cup of Hockey, with Keith Tkachuk — Matthew and Brady’s dad — a member of the squad.

Matthew Tkachuk will have a big role in trying to change that for the Americans.

The Panthers star is expected to play alongside Jack Eichel and Kyle Connor. Tkachuk will also feature on the Americans’ top power play unit. 

Puck drop is 8 p.m. ET from the Bell Centre in Montreal.

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