Sweden and Finland renew their long-running, tense hockey rivalry at the 4 Nations Face-Off

MONTREAL (AP) — If Sam Hallam wants to rile up a Finn of a certain age about Swedish hockey, he'll just bring up Anders “Masken” Carlsson. For a younger generation, it's Mats Sundin.

It works the other way around to Swedes if someone mentions Finland's Saku Koivu. And people will keep doing it, too, because the intense rivalry between the two Nordic nations separated by one sea has been passed down by generations at the Olympics, the world championships and now at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“It’s a brotherly kind of love-and-hate relationship going back for a long time,” said Hallam, who's coaching Sweden at the NHL-run tournament. “You want to beat your brother. That’s the way it is. We have tons of respect for the way they play the game, the character they have. That goes for hockey and that goes for life, too. Look at where they are on the map, and they never back down.”

Still, they can't even agree on which brothers.

“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's Erik Haula said this week, “I think I heard Hedman say that they’re the big brother, but I guess we’ll find out.”

Gustav Nyquist pointed out that the hatred dates to when his country of Sweden and Finland were formed. Their long, shared histories are more complex than those of the United States and Canada — longtime allies away from the sports world. It's peacetime now, except for on the ice when the puck drops for a game pitting Tre Kronor against Suomi.

“It’s more personal, I feel, maybe because with the games through the years in the past, as well, against them, there’s been multiple tight games,” Finland defenseman Esa Lindell said. "And obviously I would say because they’re the country next to us. That adds up (to) extra tension against them.”

There have been plenty of big, tense moments over the years, and never were the stakes higher than at the gold-medal game at the 2006 Olympics. Sweden beat Finland 3-2 in a thriller after Nicklas Lidstrom scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Henrik Lundqvist made the most important save of his career on Olli Jokinen with 25 seconds left.

“I remember that game,” Sweden goaltender Samuel Ersson said. “And it feels like when we play each other, the whole country, they stop and you want to watch those games.”

And the players want to take part in them. Hallam thinks the rivalry builds because by age 20, Swedes and Finns have already faced off in some form or fashion 20 to 25 times.

Sweden's Elias Lindholm still thinks about losing to Finland in the the 2014 world junior championship final on home ice in Malmo. But he also agrees with rivals from Finland about how the dislike is contained on a sheet of ice between the boards and glass.

“You cross paths with a lot of Finns: Huge respect for them, but there’s always something there when we played against each other that had a little extra,” Lindholm said Friday. “You’re going to be competitive out there, and when the game is over, you can all enjoy and you can have a beer or whatever and be friends. But when it’s game time, it’s no friends.”

The 4 Nations Face-Off is a unique event that does not have the history or tradition of the Olympics and is more a celebration of the return of elite competition with the NHL's best players. But with those players' return to the Games on the horizon in Milan, the tournament has value as a show of superiority a year away from that major test.

Finland is the defending Olympic champion, and Hedman acknowledged that the Finns' success from 2022 in Beijing and at recent world championships have evened things out against Sweden.

“I don’t feel like they’ve bullied us or anything like that,” Lindell said. “I feel like lately I think we’ve played very well against them.”

Saturday afternoon is the next chance for Sweden and Finland to add another chapter to their storied rivalry.

“It’s history,” Sweden defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. “It’s something that means a lot to the Swedish nation. It’s a must-win.”

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Finland's Anton Lundell (15) skates during practice for the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament in Montreal, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Finland's Erik Haula (56) talks with teammates Nikolas Matinpalo (33) and Olli Maatta (3) during practice for the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament in Montreal, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)