<p>Say what you want about Kasperi Kapanen’s body of work in the regular season, but he performs in the playoffs.</p>
<p>I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching Kapanen’s <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-advance-to-western-conference-finals-kasperi-kapanen-overtime-winner-vegas-golden-knights">overtime goal</a> on Wednesday night on repeat. The <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/kasperi-kapanen-goes-from-healthy-scratch-to-playoff-hero-for-oilers">Finnish winger</a> went from a healthy scratch in the first nine games of the postseason to an important depth player.</p>
<p>Kapanen made an immediate impact in Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights, laying three big hits on the same shift. He also had numerous scoring chances, but was unable to bury the puck.</p>
<p>Playing alongside Leon Draisaitl in the two games, Kapanen was able to whack the puck in after a few attempts, winning Game 5 in overtime for the Oilers, sending them to their third Western Conference Finals in four seasons. With that said, it’s not the first time Kapanen has scored a clutch overtime goal.</p>
<h2>2016 World Juniors</h2>
<p>Kapanen’s most notable goal before Wednesday didn’t even come in the National Hockey League.</p>
<p>Team Finland had won their third Gold Medal two years prior, defeating Team Sweden in overtime thanks to Rasmus Ristolainen’s goal. Two years later, they hosted the tournament in Helsinki, finishing (no pun intended) second in Group B.</p>
<p>In the quarterfinals, Team Finland defeated Team Canada 6-5 in a barnburner. They defeated their rivals in Team Finland by a 2-1 score, giving them an opportunity to win their second Gold Medal in three years. They had to get through Russia.</p>
<p>Finland was six seconds away from doing just that, but Andrei Svetlakov scored to tie the game and send it to overtime. It took just 93 seconds for Kapanen to find the Gold Medal goal, going old school with a wrap-around.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Kasperi Kapanen wins the 2016 world juniors for Finland" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q-nNJqfbZYM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>2017 postseason</h2>
<p>Kapanen had been drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins two years before, but was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the deal that brought Phil Kessel to the Penguins.</p>
<p>The Finn played nine games with the Leafs in 2015-16, and another eight games with them in 2016-17. However, he played six postseason games with them that season, scoring two goals. Both those goals came in Game 2.</p>
<p>With just over five minutes left in the second period and the Leafs down 2-1, Kapanen scored his first career postseason goal to tie the game. The Leafs traded goals with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals, leading to overtime.</p>
<p>No one scored through the first 31:53 of sudden death, but it was Kapanen finding the back of the net thanks to a nice pass by Brian Boyle for the first Leafs’ postseason win since 2013.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Gotta See It: Kapanen ends OT thriller between Maple Leafs and Capitals" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNzgn1tAPak?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>2021 postseason</h2>
<p>Not all of Kapanen’s clutch postseason goals have come in overtime. The Penguins reacquired Kapanen in the summer of 2020. He scored 11 goals and 30 points in 40 games, helping the Penguins make the postseason.</p>
<p>Down 3-2 late in the game, Kapanen scored the game-tying goal with 3:39 left in the game, ripping it off the post and in to force overtime. Funnily enough, Cody Ceci picked up the secondary assist on this goal.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="NHL Game Highlights | Islanders vs. Penguins, Game 1 – May 16, 2021" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EgU3FowgCKU?start=337&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>2022 postseason</h2>
<p>Three of Kapanen’s 14 postseason points have come on the game-winning overtime goal. We’ve already covered the 2017 postseason goal, and Wednesday’s goal is surely still in everyone’s minds, but what about the other point?</p>
<p>In Game 1 of the 2022 postseason, the New York Rangers scored the first two goals, but Jake Guentzel scored two consecutive goals to even up the game. On a Pittsburgh power play, the teams traded goals, making it a 3-3 game.</p>
<p>It stood that way for over 67 minutes and 28 seconds. Kapanen had the puck behind the Rangers’ net and passed to Oilers’ draftee John Marino at the point. The defenceman shot it, and Evgeni Malkin tipped it to give the Penguins the 4-3 win and a 1-0 series lead.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Evgeni Malkin Scores Off Perfect Deflection In Front To End Triple-Overtime Thriller" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GaA3dUsByTI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Who knows if Kapanen remains in the Oilers’ lineup moving forward? You have to assume both Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson are chomping at the bit to get in the lineup. If Mattias Ekholm returns to the lineup, perhaps the Oilers run an 11/7. With that being said, Kapanen’s clutch overtime goal on Wednesday is one of a long list of clutch moments in his career.</p>
<hr />
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.</span></i></p>


Say what you want about Kasperi Kapanen’s body of work in the regular season, but he performs in the playoffs.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching Kapanen’s <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-advance-to-western-conference-finals-kasperi-kapanen-overtime-winner-vegas-golden-knights">overtime goal</a> on Wednesday night on repeat. The <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/kasperi-kapanen-goes-from-healthy-scratch-to-playoff-hero-for-oilers">Finnish winger</a> went from a healthy scratch in the first nine games of the postseason to an important depth player.

Kapanen made an immediate impact in Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights, laying three big hits on the same shift. He also had numerous scoring chances, but was unable to bury the puck.

Playing alongside Leon Draisaitl in the two games, Kapanen was able to whack the puck in after a few attempts, winning Game 5 in overtime for the Oilers, sending them to their third Western Conference Finals in four seasons. With that said, it’s not the first time Kapanen has scored a clutch overtime goal.
<h2>2016 World Juniors</h2>
Kapanen’s most notable goal before Wednesday didn’t even come in the National Hockey League.

Team Finland had won their third Gold Medal two years prior, defeating Team Sweden in overtime thanks to Rasmus Ristolainen’s goal. Two years later, they hosted the tournament in Helsinki, finishing (no pun intended) second in Group B.

In the quarterfinals, Team Finland defeated Team Canada 6-5 in a barnburner. They defeated their rivals in Team Finland by a 2-1 score, giving them an opportunity to win their second Gold Medal in three years. They had to get through Russia.

Finland was six seconds away from doing just that, but Andrei Svetlakov scored to tie the game and send it to overtime. It took just 93 seconds for Kapanen to find the Gold Medal goal, going old school with a wrap-around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-nNJqfbZYM&ab_channel=CanadaOwnsHockey
<h2>2017 postseason</h2>
Kapanen had been drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins two years before, but was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the deal that brought Phil Kessel to the Penguins.

The Finn played nine games with the Leafs in 2015-16, and another eight games with them in 2016-17. However, he played six postseason games with them that season, scoring two goals. Both those goals came in Game 2.

With just over five minutes left in the second period and the Leafs down 2-1, Kapanen scored his first career postseason goal to tie the game. The Leafs traded goals with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals, leading to overtime.

No one scored through the first 31:53 of sudden death, but it was Kapanen finding the back of the net thanks to a nice pass by Brian Boyle for the first Leafs’ postseason win since 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNzgn1tAPak&ab_channel=SPORTSNET
<h2>2021 postseason</h2>
Not all of Kapanen’s clutch postseason goals have come in overtime. The Penguins reacquired Kapanen in the summer of 2020. He scored 11 goals and 30 points in 40 games, helping the Penguins make the postseason.

Down 3-2 late in the game, Kapanen scored the game-tying goal with 3:39 left in the game, ripping it off the post and in to force overtime. Funnily enough, Cody Ceci picked up the secondary assist on this goal.

https://youtu.be/EgU3FowgCKU?si=d1t94CnA4KFRg_dB&t=337
<h2>2022 postseason</h2>
Three of Kapanen’s 14 postseason points have come on the game-winning overtime goal. We’ve already covered the 2017 postseason goal, and Wednesday’s goal is surely still in everyone’s minds, but what about the other point?

In Game 1 of the 2022 postseason, the New York Rangers scored the first two goals, but Jake Guentzel scored two consecutive goals to even up the game. On a Pittsburgh power play, the teams traded goals, making it a 3-3 game.

It stood that way for over 67 minutes and 28 seconds. Kapanen had the puck behind the Rangers’ net and passed to Oilers’ draftee John Marino at the point. The defenceman shot it, and Evgeni Malkin tipped it to give the Penguins the 4-3 win and a 1-0 series lead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaA3dUsByTI&ab_channel=SPORTSNET

Who knows if Kapanen remains in the Oilers’ lineup moving forward? You have to assume both Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson are chomping at the bit to get in the lineup. If Mattias Ekholm returns to the lineup, perhaps the Oilers run an 11/7. With that being said, Kapanen’s clutch overtime goal on Wednesday is one of a long list of clutch moments in his career.

<hr />

<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.</span></i>

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