ZÜRICH. The Lions experimented with small changes in the Sunday night match against Austria in the World Championships, which included Aleksander Barkov playing as a net-front presence on the first power play unit, with Konsta Helenius stepping in for Jesse Puljujärvi to bring more scoring power to the second line.

One of the experiments was the switching of positions between Anton Lundell and Aatu Räty. Räty now had a familiar duo on the wings with Puljujärvi and Sakari Manninen from Genève-Servette. The line produced results, and Manninen finally opened his scoring account in the tournament.

Räty praised the trio’s teamwork as effective.

– Yes, we just play together here, but I think we got some good chances and good passing plays. We managed to score a goal too. We’re definitely building chemistry all the time and improving, Räty summarized the first game of the new line for SuomiKiekko.

Puljujärvi was also on the same page.

– There were a lot of plays right away. The rhythm and flow were there, Puljujärvi recounted his teamwork with Räty and Manninen at the interview point.

The Lions’ World Championship journey continues on Tuesday with a match against Switzerland after a day off. The team’s calendar marks an hour and fifteen minutes of ice practice for Monday.

LUE MYÖS:

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