Three minutes, 24 seconds.
That’s how long it took Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu to produce a goal for Finland for the first time in these Olympics, when the Ducks teammates assisted on Olli Jokinen’s first-period goal against Belarus. Finland rolled to an easy 5-1 victory in its Vancouver debut.
For Selanne, the assist gave him a share of the Olympic record for most career points, according to NHL.com.
Selanne has 20 goals and 36 points in five Olympic appearances. Citing the IIHF record book, NHL.com reports that Selanne is now tied with Czechoslovakia’s Vlastimil Bubnik, Russia’s Valeri Kharlamov and Canada’s Harry Watson. With five more goals in the tournament, Selanne will tie the Olympic record for most career goals in the modern era, which begins with the 1956 Olympics. Sweden’s Sven “Tumba” Johansson holds the record with 25.
With the assist, Koivu also moved two assists closer to tying the Olympic record of 22, held by Russia’s Kharlamov.