Anton Lundell (#15) scored Finland's first goal of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (#86) and Aleksander Barkov (#16), in a 3-1 win over Germany.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDREA CARDIN
Jesse Puljujarvi scored the decisive third-period goal as Finland opened the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship with a 3-1 win over Germany on Friday. The Finnish power play clicked twice at Zurich's Swiss Life Arena.
Like Puljujarvi, Anton Lundell stepped up with a goal and an assist, and Aatu Raty had a single. Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov added an assist in his first official game appearance since his Florida Panthers defeated Edmonton for the 2025 Stanley Cup. Teuvo Teravainen had a pair of helpers.
Lundell, Barkov's Florida teammate, said: "I think he looked great. He was strong, he was fast, he's the Barky I've seen in the past. He's always able to amaze us, and we're all happy to see him back in action again."
Employing their well-practiced defence-first approach, the Finns outshot Germany 24-17. The Germans' inability to capitalize on Finland's second-period parade to the penalty box was their undoing.
"It's not an easy team to play against, especially for the first game, but there's a lot of positives that we can take out of that game," said Germany's Joshua Samanski.
Stefan Loibl got the lone German goal.
Barkov's return was a key storyline. The 30-year-old superstar, who represented Finland at age 18 at the 2014 Olympics, had hoped to suit up again in Milan. However, Barkov – a two-time Cup champion and three-time Selke Trophy winner – sat out the entire season due to knee surgery and missed out on February's bronze-medal run.
Barkov skated on coach Antti Pennanen's top line with Teravainen and Geneve-Servette winger Sakari Manninen, who scored the overtime winner versus Canada when Finland captured home-ice gold in 2022 in Tampere. That was also Finland's last Worlds medal. Manninen, 34, last played at the Worlds in 2023.
Finnish goalie Justus Annunen – the Nashville Predators backup to Olympic starter Juuse Saros – made his victorious World Championship debut with 16 saves. German NHL veteran Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.
Veteran Finnish blueilner Olli Maatta praised Annunen: "I think he plays the puck well, and he seems very calm out there. He does talk on and off the ice a lot, so we're kind of on the same page. I think he's been rock-solid."
At 8:33, Finland drew first blood on its first power play. In the high slot, Lundell – nicknamed “Baby Barkov” by Panthers fans – accepted a centering pass from Teravainen and beat Grubauer high with the German goalie down in the butterfly position. Teravainen tied for the tournament lead with 10 assists last year and equalled a single-game Worlds record with six assists versus Slovenia.
The second period got off to a wild start. In Germany's end, a goalmouth scramble saw superstar blueliner Moritz Seider pivot with lightning speed to sweep the puck away off the goal line.
"Obviously the player that he is, the plays that he makes, he's a tremendous hockey player," said Samanski of Detroit's top rearguard. "And that was definitely a highlight-reel move."
Finland was called for too many players on the ice moments later. The best chance, though, went to Manninen, whom Grubauer denied on a partial shorthanded breakaway. The Germans again squandered a power play after Ottawa Senators veteran Nikolas Matinpalo slashed the onrushing Dominik Kahun, who slid hard into the end boards but was able to continue.
Of Germany's early PP struggles, Samanski said: "We might have to just bear down a little. We know that we can create plays, but we don't always have to find the right play. Sometimes we also just have to put it to the net and crash the net."
In the third period, Puljujarvi doubled Finland's lead with the man advantage at 3:05. Teravainen fired a cross-ice pass that Barkov, at the crease, allowed to slide through his legs, and the waiting "Pulju" made no mistake on Grubauer's glove side. The former NHLer, competing in his third Worlds, now plays with Manninen in Geneva.
"Our power play and penalty kill were unreal," said Lundell. "They helped us to the win today."
Loibl cut the deficit to 2-1 at 11:09, playing catch with Leon Gawanke and stepping in off the centre point to blast one past Annunen.
Raty struck back with his first career World Championship goal to make it 3-1 at 15:25. Capitalizing on Leon Huttl's defensive-zone turnover, Saku Maenalanen picked off the puck and set up the Vancouver Canucks forward in the slot.
German coach Harald Kreis pulled Grubauer for the extra attacker in the dying moments, but to no avail.
Finland has won four consecutive World Championship games against Germany, staying perfect in the 2020s. The last meeting in 2023 saw Finland prevail 4-3 on Mikko Lehtonen’s third-period goal in Tampere.
Germany’s best recent showing versus Finland was in 2021 when it lost 2-1 in both the preliminary round and the semi-finals to the eventual silver medalists. Seider was named Best Defenceman and a tournament all-star that year.
Next up in Zurich, Finland returns to action against Hungary on Saturday. The Germans get a rest before playing Latvia on Sunday.
"Our team is really a team," said Samanski. "We care for each other, we play for each other. So just to bring that and put that on the ice and play hard over 60 minutes is what it takes."
Like Puljujarvi, Anton Lundell stepped up with a goal and an assist, and Aatu Raty had a single. Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov added an assist in his first official game appearance since his Florida Panthers defeated Edmonton for the 2025 Stanley Cup. Teuvo Teravainen had a pair of helpers.
Lundell, Barkov's Florida teammate, said: "I think he looked great. He was strong, he was fast, he's the Barky I've seen in the past. He's always able to amaze us, and we're all happy to see him back in action again."
Employing their well-practiced defence-first approach, the Finns outshot Germany 24-17. The Germans' inability to capitalize on Finland's second-period parade to the penalty box was their undoing.
"It's not an easy team to play against, especially for the first game, but there's a lot of positives that we can take out of that game," said Germany's Joshua Samanski.
Stefan Loibl got the lone German goal.
Barkov's return was a key storyline. The 30-year-old superstar, who represented Finland at age 18 at the 2014 Olympics, had hoped to suit up again in Milan. However, Barkov – a two-time Cup champion and three-time Selke Trophy winner – sat out the entire season due to knee surgery and missed out on February's bronze-medal run.
Barkov skated on coach Antti Pennanen's top line with Teravainen and Geneve-Servette winger Sakari Manninen, who scored the overtime winner versus Canada when Finland captured home-ice gold in 2022 in Tampere. That was also Finland's last Worlds medal. Manninen, 34, last played at the Worlds in 2023.
Finnish goalie Justus Annunen – the Nashville Predators backup to Olympic starter Juuse Saros – made his victorious World Championship debut with 16 saves. German NHL veteran Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.
Veteran Finnish blueilner Olli Maatta praised Annunen: "I think he plays the puck well, and he seems very calm out there. He does talk on and off the ice a lot, so we're kind of on the same page. I think he's been rock-solid."
At 8:33, Finland drew first blood on its first power play. In the high slot, Lundell – nicknamed “Baby Barkov” by Panthers fans – accepted a centering pass from Teravainen and beat Grubauer high with the German goalie down in the butterfly position. Teravainen tied for the tournament lead with 10 assists last year and equalled a single-game Worlds record with six assists versus Slovenia.
The second period got off to a wild start. In Germany's end, a goalmouth scramble saw superstar blueliner Moritz Seider pivot with lightning speed to sweep the puck away off the goal line.
"Obviously the player that he is, the plays that he makes, he's a tremendous hockey player," said Samanski of Detroit's top rearguard. "And that was definitely a highlight-reel move."
Finland was called for too many players on the ice moments later. The best chance, though, went to Manninen, whom Grubauer denied on a partial shorthanded breakaway. The Germans again squandered a power play after Ottawa Senators veteran Nikolas Matinpalo slashed the onrushing Dominik Kahun, who slid hard into the end boards but was able to continue.
Of Germany's early PP struggles, Samanski said: "We might have to just bear down a little. We know that we can create plays, but we don't always have to find the right play. Sometimes we also just have to put it to the net and crash the net."
In the third period, Puljujarvi doubled Finland's lead with the man advantage at 3:05. Teravainen fired a cross-ice pass that Barkov, at the crease, allowed to slide through his legs, and the waiting "Pulju" made no mistake on Grubauer's glove side. The former NHLer, competing in his third Worlds, now plays with Manninen in Geneva.
"Our power play and penalty kill were unreal," said Lundell. "They helped us to the win today."
Loibl cut the deficit to 2-1 at 11:09, playing catch with Leon Gawanke and stepping in off the centre point to blast one past Annunen.
Raty struck back with his first career World Championship goal to make it 3-1 at 15:25. Capitalizing on Leon Huttl's defensive-zone turnover, Saku Maenalanen picked off the puck and set up the Vancouver Canucks forward in the slot.
German coach Harald Kreis pulled Grubauer for the extra attacker in the dying moments, but to no avail.
Finland has won four consecutive World Championship games against Germany, staying perfect in the 2020s. The last meeting in 2023 saw Finland prevail 4-3 on Mikko Lehtonen’s third-period goal in Tampere.
Germany’s best recent showing versus Finland was in 2021 when it lost 2-1 in both the preliminary round and the semi-finals to the eventual silver medalists. Seider was named Best Defenceman and a tournament all-star that year.
Next up in Zurich, Finland returns to action against Hungary on Saturday. The Germans get a rest before playing Latvia on Sunday.
"Our team is really a team," said Samanski. "We care for each other, we play for each other. So just to bring that and put that on the ice and play hard over 60 minutes is what it takes."
Finland vs Germany- 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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