Nikolas Matinpalo has steady start, then rough end for Finland in 4 Nations Face-Off

Not many people would've expected 26-year-old Nikolas Matinpalo of the Ottawa Senators to be on Finland's roster in the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, due to injuries on Finland's defense, it led to Matinpalo to get an opportunity to represent his country.

Prior to the event, Matinpalo had recorded zero points in 22 career NHL games. Even with little NHL experience, playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off would get Matinpalo good experience to get used to playing against top NHL players.

Finland would meet the United States in the second 4 Nations Face-Off game of the tournament. At first, Matinpalo's play for Finland would start steady in the first period. Then, the United States took over against Matinpalo and Finland.

Matinpalo's final 40 minutes hurts Finland

In the first period, Matinpalo had a steady start to the game. Just one minute into the game, Matinpalo got into a scrum with J.T. Miller in front of Finland goaltender Juuse Saros. Matinpalo showed that despite his little NHL experience, he wasn't intimidated against top players in the NHL.

Matinpalo finished the first period with nine shifts, one shot on goal and keeping Finland in the game defensively. Then, a rough second period happened.

In the second period, Matinpalo was called for a boarding penalty. Although the United States didn't score, it costed two minutes of even strength play. Matt Boldy scored on a deflection to help give the United States a 2-1 lead. Boldy was right in front of Matinpalo when he deflected the puck into the net.

Matinpalo finished the game with two shots on goal, one blocked shot and a -2 rating in 14:32 of ice time in Finland's 6-1 loss to the United States. Matinpalo finished with the second lowest ice time among Finland's defensemen.

Finland allowed in six unanswered goals to the United States, including four goals in the third period. Matinpalo's Senators teammate Brady Tkachuk scored two goals in the game, and made an immediate impact by scoring the United States' first goal of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Finland and Matinpalo will return to play on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET when they take on Sweden at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.