‘We’re the big brother’: Laine, Finland feeling confident after 4 Nations win over Sweden

The rivalry between Finland and Sweden sometimes falls under the radar to North American hockey fans, but both countries take it very seriously.

So when Finland beat Sweden 4-3 in overtime on Saturday in the 4 Nations Face-Off, winger Patrik Laine let the Swedes know who was in control of the rivalry right now.

“Well, I feel like we’re the big brother now,” said Laine to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan in a post-game interview. “It feels good. It’s always fun to play against them and especially [to] come out on top. It’s a good feeling.”

The comment was prompted by a questions calling back to a quote from Sweden captain Victor Hedman before the game, referring to the brotherly rivalry that the two countries have.

“I think you if ask them, they say they’re the big brother, and if you ask us, we’re the big brother,” Sweden captain Victor Hedman said.

Finland came into the tournament as the underdogs and the weakest team on paper, but they brought their best game against their Nordic rivals on Saturday, beating them 4-3 in overtime in a back-and-forth showdown. Laine had two assists in the game, and was named the second star.

It was a pivotal win for Finland, as a regulation loss would have already eliminated them from contending for the championship game after a 6-1 loss to the United States. While the clinching scenarios for Finland will depend on the result of the Canada-USA game later on Saturday, Finland will for sure need to beat Canada on Monday to clinch a spot in the championship.

This game marked the first time since 2016 that Finland and Sweden had played in true best-on-best hockey, as the two teams played in a group stage matchup during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Sweden won that game 2-0, which featured 12 players that played in Saturday’s game, including Laine.

This was the first time Finland had beaten Sweden in best-on-best hockey since the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, as the Finns won a quarterfinal matchup between the two by a score of 2-1.