Saku Koivu says the emotion of Sunday's gold medal game makes it the biggest game ever.

How big is big?
By Phil Coffey | NHL.com
Feb. 25, 2006

So, if you're living in Equatorial Guinea, chances are the gold medal match between Sweden and Finland doesn't have your pulse racing. Suffice it to say Sunday's game (8 a.m. ET, 2 p.m. local, CBC, NBC) is ranking a little higher than life itself right now.

"I think it will be the biggest game ever," Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu said when asked where the game rates for the folks back in Finland. "We all know the importance of it. There will be a lot of emotion involved."

Across the hallway, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin was asked if this was the biggest game in his career.

"I don't know," Sundin pondered. "I know it is a thrill to play in the Olympics and play for your country. We have a lot of guys who have won championships, the Stanley Cup and the World Championship. It is a big game."

Avoiding the spotlight -- Obviously, Finnish General Manager Jari Kurri, the Hall of Famer from the Edmonton Oilers, has done a marvelous job constructing a team that lost out on a number of players to injuries. But don't expect Kurri to take any bows here.

"This moment is for the players on the ice," Kurri said. "They play the games and I am very proud of them. But this is their moment, not mine."

Familiarity breeds success -- The Finns have jelled so rapidly here in Torino it defies description. But Anaheim's Teemu Selanne says it all boils down to teamwork.

"I think we know each other really well and we play well as a team," Selanne said. "Guys have accepted the roles given to them and they do not complain. They are not playing as much as they would in the NHL and they are not complaining."

Six into three -- Since the NHL first started sending players to the Olympics in 1998, six different countries have vied for the gold medal. In 1998 in Nagano it was the Czechs against Russia. In 2002, it was Canada against the United States, and in 2006, it's Finland vs. Sweden.

"I think there are a lot of players all over the world and the so-called lower countries are getting closer and closer all the time," Swedish coach Bengt Gustafsson said.

Defending Sundin and Forsberg -- Sweden's top line of Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg and Fredrik Modin can lay a world of hurt on the opposition. Stopping that line figures to be the biggest challenge of the gold medal game for Finland, so how will the Finns go about it?

Teamwork.

Team Finland will use teamwork to counter Sweden's top line of Fredrik Modin, Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg.

"We've played offensive teams in the tournament and have had success against them," coach Erkka Westerlund said. "We will work as a team and we have to play our game."

Brother, can you spare a goal? -- Having allowed a total of five goals in seven games, the Finns are about as airtight defensively as you can get in a tournament like this. So, how do the Swedes plan to dent Philadelphia Flyers goalie Antero Niittymaki?

"We will have to work hard to get anything from them," Anaheim's Samuel Pahlsson said. "They work really hard in their end. The obviously play very solid defense and nothing will come easy. We will not get any easy ones.

"That first goal is important," understated Daniel Alfredsson.

"I hope we win 1-0," Swedish coach Bengt Gustafsson said. "All we have to do is get one goal and not allow any ourselves."

Even steven -- Russian coach Vladimir Krikunov sees one of the most evenly matched games of the Olympics.

"I would say that the teams are approximately even, so it will be a great game, an interesting game," Krikunov said. "It seems the Finnish team plays more accurately in defense and the breakaways are very good."