INSIDER: Joel Armia Leading Team Finland in Scoring w/ Medal Round Approaching

Probably hasn’t been a better output compared to expectations this season for the LA Kings than forward Joel Armia.

So, why should the 2026 Winter Olympics be any different?

On a team made up of NHL All-Stars and Stanley Cup champions, who was the only player to collect a point in all three games played during the preliminary round of the Olympics? That would be Armia, of course!

Armia did it in what feels like his style too, with his points coming in a variety of different ways. As Team Finland concluded the preliminary round, it was Armia who sat atop the team’s scoring charts, bumping elbows with names like McDavid, MacKinnon, Raymond and Slafkovsky at the end of Finland’s final game. Not too shabby, as he was tied for fifth in the tournament in points following his final game of the opening round.

Although Team Finland disappointed in their tournament opener against Slovakia, the lone goal they got came off a nice play by Armia, who set up teammate Eeli Tolvanen for the nation’s first goal of the tournament. Armia impacted the play three times here, leading up to the goal.

Highlights from Olympic games are not allowed to be embedded, so you can watch the play at this link HERE, already set to the start of the play.

First, Armia takes a pass off the rush to gain the offensive zone with possession, before he threads the puck through to a soft area on the other side of the rink, allowing Finland to get set up with a little bit of space.

Operating at the end of a power play, Armia then sets up in the bumper position, where we’ve seen him occasionally with the Kings. He does what that position needs to do, which is draw in pressure and create space. Armia takes a pass from forward Teuvo Teravainen and quickly works it out wide to forward Artturi Lehkonen along the boards, with a ton of space to operate.

Then, Armia remains in a soft spot between the Team Slovakia penalty killers and takes the return feed from Lehkonen, surrounded by four Slovakian players. He collects the puck on his forehand, pulls it to his backhand before quickly sliding a pass to Tolvanen at the back post for the goal, which leveled the score for Finland in that moment.

That was all Finland would get, though, as they fell 4-1 in their tournament opener.

That set up what became a must-win game for Team Finland if they hoped to secure one of the four byes directly to the quarterfinals, as they took on Team Sweden, their biggest rivals internationally.

“Those games have always been fun, no matter what age, you played on the national teams, always Finland/Sweden games were great,” Armia said before the tournament. “Looking forward to that.”

In perhaps the most fitting Joel Armia fashion, he made his impact on that Finland/Sweden game while his team was a man down.

No player in the NHL this season has scored more shorthanded goals than Armia, who is tied for the league lead with four in total. He also has a shorthanded assist and is tied for the NHL lead with five shorthanded points as well.

In a 2-1 game with Team Finland ahead, facing an All-Star loaded power play for Team Sweden, Armia swung the game back the other way with a pivotal insurance goal. Some great work along the boards by Erik Haula jarred the puck loose for Armia, who found himself with a bit of space in front of the net. He worked the puck quickly to his forehand and shot top shelf, crossbar and in, for his first goal of the tournament and a 3-1 lead, which led to a victory that kept his team alive for a bye coming out of the first round.

Armia’s goal is available HERE, via the NBC Sports YouTube channel.

Then came the final game of the preliminary around against the host nation, Team Italy. A game in which Team Finland left no doubt.

Armia saved his offense for the third period, as he picked up a goal and an assist on his team’s final two goals of an eventual 11-0 victory. Though the game was already decided, Armia added the goal that brought the lead to double digits, before he picked up the primary assist on forward Joel Kiviranta’s goal late in regulation, cementing the lopsided victory.

Full highlights from Finland’s win over Italy are available HERE, linked to start just before Armia’s goal.

Looking ahead, Armia was one of the driving forces behind Team Finland more than likely securing the fourth and final bye directly to the quarterfinals.

Finland finished in a three-way tie atop Group A with Slovakia and Sweden, with each team winning once head-to-head. Slovakia won the first tiebreaker to secure a bye as a top-three seed, but Finland won the tiebreaker over Sweden, and barring a crazy result elsewhere, would hold that tiebreaker over the other two second-placed finishers as well. which would secure the final bye to the quarterfinals.

Assuming that transpires as expected over the next 24 hours, Armia and Team Finland have earned a game off and will resume play on February 18 against a winner from the preliminary round, to be determined once those matchups have been decided. Finland would play the winner of the 5 vs. 12 matchup, with both of those teams still to be determined. More to come, with a full preview of the knockout round this coming week.