{"id":13372,"date":"2025-02-09T13:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T13:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=13372"},"modified":"2025-02-09T13:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T13:33:07","slug":"blackhawks-teuvo-teravainen-moving-from-one-underdog-to-another-finlands-4-nations-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=13372","title":{"rendered":"Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teravainen moving from one underdog to another: Finland’s 4 Nations team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teravainen will be the lone Hawk playing hockey for the next two weeks in the NHL\u2019s new international tournament. But it will be high-stakes hockey, at least.<\/h2>\n

\"Teuvo<\/p>\n

Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen will play for Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Stacy Revere\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

ST. LOUIS \u2014 As the Blackhawks\u2019 lone representative in the 4 Nations Face-Off over the next two weeks, Teuvo Teravainen will get to play in high-intensity, high-stakes games for Finland \u2014 something he certainly won\u2019t get to do with the Hawks this season.<\/p>\n

But while he grinds through the NHL\u2019s new international tournament in Montreal and Boston, his Hawks teammates will get to enjoy a different experience: defrosting.<\/p>\n

\"Amid<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to turn off the group chat for a little bit so I don\u2019t see any pictures of the beaches,\u201d Teravainen said Saturday with a grin. \u201cIt\u2019s always fun to go play, but I\u2019m sure those guys are happy to go on vacation, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finland will be sizable underdogs against all three opponents: Sweden, Canada and the United States, against whom they\u2019ll play their first game of the tournament\u2019s round-robin stage Thursday. That was always going to be the case, but now that Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen will miss the tournament due to injury and Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen might also, their roster looks even weaker.<\/p>\n

Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho and Predators goalie Juuse Saros are Finland\u2019s biggest healthy stars. Teravainen \u2014 playing in an international tournament for the first time since 2018 \u2014 could slot seamlessly alongside Aho, his longtime former teammate in Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s easier to be the underdog,\u201d Teravainen said. \u201cFinland, when they play their best, it\u2019s all about defense and good goaltending and playing good together. If we can do that, we\u2019ll be a very dangerous team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special-teams catalyst<\/b><\/h3>\n

Teravainen deliberately avoids attention as much as possible, but he has roughly met expectations in his first season back in Chicago. He\u2019s not a reason why the Hawks sit 31st in the standings.<\/p>\n

After recording a goal and an assist Saturday, he is second on the team in scoring, with 40 points (including 28 assists) in 55 games. His defensive play has been solid, too. He\u2019s a central part of both the power play and penalty kill, helping both units currently rank among the top 10 in the league.<\/p>\n

“[His] playmaking abilities are really good, and he\u2019s in a good spot all the time,\u201d interim coach Anders Sorensen said. \u201cHe\u2019s reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Teravainen, laughing: “The coaches, they always tell me to shoot the puck more. But I’ve played a lot of games and I’m still looking for the pass, so I don’t think it’s going to change…” https:\/\/t.co\/GJ95M8hZ9H<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n