This Day in Hockey History – October 2, 2009 – The Finnish Finish

For the first NHL regular-season games ever played in Finland, the victories came from the homegrown Finns. On October 2, 2009, defenseman Ville Koistinen won the shootout for his Florida Panthers. Then on Saturday, October 3, goalie Antti Niemi earned a shutout for his Chicago Blackhawks.

The NHL games were held at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. Going into the games, some of the Panthers suffered from the flu. Whether completely healthy or not, Coach Pete DeBoer planned to dress seven defensemen for Game 1. Koistinen, who had signed with the Panthers in 2006 after becoming the top-scoring defenseman of his Finnish league (with 34 points), played on the fourth line in place of winger Michal Repik.

In both games, Chicago usually had the upper hand. After a scoreless first period in Game 1, the Blackhawks drew first blood, and the Panthers tied up. Chicago started things off again in the third period, but Koistinen scored a tying goal when he “drilled in a long shot with both teams down a man.” After another Blackhawks’ goal, David Booth made the score 3-3 with only 2:21 remaining. 

Hawks center Jonathan Toews commented, “Unfortunately, we let them creep back into the game and hang around.” They also had trouble finding the back of the net on their 55 shots on goal. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville admitted, “There were a lot of loose pucks in the last part of the game and we couldn’t get a handle on it.”

This meant that the game would be decided by a shootout. Coach DeBoer had a sound strategy to make up for their 3-8 record in shootouts last season. He explained, “It really is a special skill. And it cost us a playoff spot last year, not being very good in that area of the game.” So he signed at least two players with good shootout records, Koistinen and Steven Reinprecht. In this shootout, they both proved him right, scoring on goalie Cristobal Huet. Chicago’s shootout record wasn’t much better at 4-7.

On the other side, DeBoer had reason to worry about Coach Quenneville’s choices, saying, “And they’re lining up Kane and Toews and Sharp – that’s a pretty intimidating lineup in a shootout.” Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun used his left leg to block Patrick Sharp’s shot after Kane had already failed to score. Blackhawks Coach Quenneville regretted not being able to close in regulation. “That was one of our strengths last year. That we were able to close teams out and find a way to win. This leaves a sour taste.”

Koistinen’s “high backhand shot” won Game 1 for the Panthers. Naturally, he was thrilled, exclaiming, “This game was unbelievable. First of all to play here in Finland, then to score a goal and score a game winner. This is more than a dream right now.” Teammate David Booth said, “It’s really cool to see Koistinen do that in his home country. That’s something he’ll never forget.”

Game 2 went completely differently, even though the winner also scored four goals. While Vokoun would remain in the Panthers’ net, the Blackhawks planned to switch to Niemi. He told the press, “It would be awesome. I’m already a little excited and nervous about it.”

It seemed Niemi had little to be nervous about, even though it was only his fourth NHL game. Thanks to his 23 saves, Chicago shutout Florida 4-0. Coach Quenneville praised, “It was a good opportunity to play him in front of his own countrymen. He got a good challenge and we loved the response.”

Three of those were power-play goals. The first one was scored while Koistinen was serving the first penalty of the night. He had been called for interference at 2:28 of the first period. 

At the end of the 2009-10 season, the Blackhawks finished third in the NHL rankings (with 112) while the Panthers finished third-to-last (with 77 points). Chicago then moved through the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup after a drought of almost 50 years.

Additional Sources:

• Mike Commito, Hockey 365: Daily Stories from the Ice (Toronto: Dundurn, 2018), kindle edition.
• Steve Gorten, “Koistinen home country hero,” and “Acting GM Sexton finally given title,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, 3 Oct. 2009, pp. 1C and 7C.
• Steve Gorten, “Finnish finish a flop as goals can’t be found” and “Shootout aces eyeing key wins,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, 4 Oct. 2009, p. 13C.
• Steve Gorten, “A sour finish,” and “Glass only half full,” Chicago Tribune, 3 Oct. 2009, section 2, pp. 1 and 4.
• Steve Gorten, “Hawks’ Finn gains split,” Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2009, section 3, p. 8.
• https://thepinkpuck.com/2019/06/09/this-day-in-hockey-history-june-9-2010-windy-city-ends-drought/