Strong Defense Is Key for Finland

If he’d grown up in the United States, he would have been playing ball in his backyard, dreaming of hitting the game-winning home run in Game 7 of the World Series. But Teemu Selanne grew up in Finland, so he played in pickup hockey games on an outdoor rink, calling his guys Finland and the other guys Sweden.

“We won,” Selanne said.

Game on, for real, with the world watching.

Here Sunday, the Baltic neighbors collide for the Olympic gold medal.

“Finland is going to be going crazy,” Finnish forward Antti Laaksonen said.

With Antero Niittymaki posting his third shutout in five games, Olli Jokinen scoring his third goal in two games and two assists from Kimmo Timonen, Finland eliminated Russia with a 4-0 victory in the Olympic semifinals.

On his way out of the arena, Ilya Bryzgalov paused to hug Selanne and wish him luck. Bryzgalov is Russia’s backup goaltender, but he is also Selanne’s teammate on the Mighty Ducks.

Selanne is one of the more popular players in the NHL and has enjoyed a long and distinguished career, but he never has held the Stanley Cup.

“He’s a nice guy,” Bryzgalov said. “He’s a great player. I hope he wins a gold medal.”

Finland never has won a gold medal, and the next-door neighbors are standing in the way. The rivalry is traditional, but not bitter.

“It’s more like a love-hate relationship,” Finnish forward Jarkko Ruutu said. “The Russian thing is more about our ancestors. Both of my grandfathers fought in World War II, and they fought against Russia.”

On the ice, the Finns dispatched the Russians with the smothering defense they have displayed throughout the Olympics. Finland has five shutouts in seven games and outscored opponents, 27-5.

The Swedes are the highest-scoring team in the tournament. In seven games, they have scored seven goals twice, and six goals twice.

After the game, Selanne joked with reporters, who reminded him of his pregame prediction, a 3-2 Finland victory. “I tried to be nice,” Selanne said. “That’s why I’m not betting on hockey. I have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Sunday’s game shines a rare spotlight on a beautiful but relatively isolated slice of the planet. The population of the Los Angeles metropolitan area exceeds the combined population of Finland and Sweden.

“People will learn a lot more about our rivalry -- and not only in hockey, but in other sports,” Swedish defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. “Sweden and Finland will be huge.”

The teams last met in the Olympics in 1998, when Finland won in the quarterfinals. They never have played for gold, but they faced off for the world championship in 1998 (Sweden won), 1995 (Finland won) and 1992 (Sweden won).

Selanne, 35, said he would retire from international play if Finland won, adding that a gold medal against the neighbors would “absolutely” be the highlight of his career.

“That,” he said, “would be a dream come true.”