It might have been three years since forward Jesse Puljujarvi last played for the Edmonton Oilers, but his debut at the 2026 IIHF World Championship showed flashes of his past self in Oil Country.
Puljujarvi would record two points, consisting of a power play goal and an assist, as Finland held off Germany by a 3-1 scoreline in their opening game of the World Championship. His power play goal came with just over three minutes played in the third period, with Chicago Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen and Florida Panthers forward Anton Lundell recording assists on the goal. The goal also served as the game-winning goal in the contest, with Lundell providing the opening goal of the game on assists from Teravainen and Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
Puljujarvi's would also record the secondary assist on Finland's third goal of the game, which was scored by Vancouver Canucks center Aatu Räty. The primary assist on the goal was recorded by SCL Tigers forward Saku Maenalanen.
Germany's lone goal of the game would come five minutes after Puljujarvi put Finland up 2-0 early in the third period of action. Straubing Tigers forward Stefan Loibl would score the goal for Germany, with assists coming from Adler Mannheim defenseman Leon Gawanke and ERC Ingolstadt defenseman Leon Huttl.
Some other noteworthy statistics and facts
Finland outshot Germany 24-17 throughout the game; the shots were 9-6, 7-6, and 8-6 in all three periods respectively, with all three going the way of the Finns.
Germany could not convert any of their five power play opportunities, while Finland converted two of their three special teams opportunities.
Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer recorded 21 saves on 24 shots faced during the game; that was good for a 0.875 save percentage. Nashville Predators goaltender Justus Annunen would record 16 saves on 17 shots faced in the win, resulting in a 0.941 save percentage.
The loss marked Germany's fifth consecutive loss at the World Championship; their last win was on May 13, 2025, when they beat Norway 5-2.
What's next?
Finland will be in action on Saturday when they take on Hungary at the Swiss Life Arena. Puck drop in that game is set for 10:20 A.M. Eastern Time.
Germany will have the day off on Saturday before returning to action Sunday afternoon. The Germans' second game of the World Championship will be against Latvia, who open their tournament on Saturday against host nation Switzerland. Puck drop in that game will be at 2:20 P.M. Eastern Time.
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