NHL 4 Nations Face-Off
Instead of having an All-Star Game this season, the NHL and NHLPA are staging the 4 Nations Face-Off, which will run from Feb. 12 through Feb. 20. This is a round-robin tournament that will feature four national teams — Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States — with NHL players from those nations filling the rosters.
The top two teams in the standings after round-robin play will compete in the championship game on Feb. 20. The points system for the round robin will include three points for a regulation win, two points for a win in overtime/shootout, one point for a loss in overtime/shootout and zero points for a regulation loss.
The overtime format for round-robin games is 3-on-3 sudden death for a 10-minute period, followed by a shootout. In the championship game, the overtime format is full-strength sudden death in successive 20-minute periods until one team scores.
Game schedule
Note: All times Eastern.
Wednesday, Feb. 12: Canada vs. Sweden, 8 p.m. | TNT
Thursday, Feb. 13: USA vs. Finland, 8 p.m. | ESPN
Saturday, Feb. 15: Finland vs. Sweden, 1 p.m. | ABC
Saturday, Feb. 15: USA vs. Canada, 8 p.m. | ABC
Monday, Feb. 17: Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m. | TNT
Monday, Feb. 17: Sweden vs. USA, 8 p.m. | TNT
Thursday, Feb. 20: Championship game, 8 p.m. | ESPN
Canada
Captain: Sidney Crosby
Assistant captains: Connor McDavid, Cale Makar
Keys to winning the gold medal: Canada has arguably the most explosive crop of top-tier skaters in this tournament, and that talent has to be working for them in every period. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Sam Reinhart, Brayden Point … and on down the list. Coach Jon Cooper can mix and match up front with some of the best offensive threats in the world, and that will be Canada’s weapon at 5-on-5 and the power play.
Scoring should be Canada’s superpower, and depending on how Cooper disperses ice time among the savvy veterans — looking at you, Sidney Crosby — and those under-the-radar finds — Travis Konecny as a 30-goal scorer on the fourth line (?) — Canada will be a nightmare to contain when they have the puck. That alone could carry them to a championship-worthy performance.
X factor: It’s the goaltending. How exactly is Canada going to fare between the pipes? Jordan Binnington appears to be their No. 1 (at least in the early goings) with Adin Hill as his backup. So, no Logan Thompson? Who has the second-best save percentage among NHL starters this season?
All credit to Hill and the fine season he’s had in Vegas, but Canada’s netminding could leave them feeling exposed (Sam Montembeault is the country’s projected third-stringer). And a swell of uncertainty — if it were to come — can seep into the defense, too. Canada’s depth on the back end wasn’t this tournament’s best to begin with, and it took a hit when Alex Pietrangelo — a veteran with championship experience — bowed out due to injury. If goalie confidence becomes shaky, does that also rattle Canada defensively? Mental toughness will be an element in all this as well.
Finland
Captain: Aleksander Barkov
Assistant captains: Sebastian Aho, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Rantanen
Keys to winning the gold medal: It’s not that Finland doesn’t have players who can score. But a hallmark of Finnish forwards who’ve come to the NHL is that many of them are consistent two-way players. How much does that factor in a tournament in which teams such as Canada and the United States are expected to have large chunks of possession?
Receiving those two-way contributions from forwards — such as two-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov, Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz — could prove even more crucial.
X factor: How they manage without Miro Heiskanen. Losing Heiskanen was significant beyond the fact that he’s one of the NHL’s premier defensemen. Heiskanen can do everything — from logging heavy 5-on-5 minutes to running a power play to anchoring a penalty kill to making life difficult for an opposing top line.
Figuring out how they can make up for his absence could be the difference in playing in the championship game or finishing in a less desirable place.
Sweden
Captain: Victor Hedman
Assistant captains: Mattias Ekholm, Erik Karlsson, William Nylander
Keys to winning the gold medal: Sweden’s back end should be its backbone. Led by the incomparable Victor Hedman, the Swedish defense could be the tournament’s best, and that bodes well for their prospects. The Swedes’ blue line has a strong mix of talent with players who can provide offense — Hedman and Rasmus Dahlin, especially — with Gustav Forsling, Mattias Ekholm and Jonas Brodin locking things down behind them. Add Erik Karlsson’s general ability to that mix and no matter how you slice it, there’s something special for Sweden to tap.
If the forwards can complement a strong defensive game with consistent scoring, then the Swedes might have the right recipe for success.
X factor: Can Sweden overcome potentially losing both the goalies originally named to their roster? And, if the goaltending situation is impacted, will Sweden get the offensive performances it needs to outlast countries like the USA and Canada? Projected starter Jacob Markstrom was already replaced by Samuel Ersson; Linus Ullmark has been battling injury for much of this season.
That doesn’t speak to a possibly dominant showing in the crease. Leaving that aside though, can Sweden squeeze enough from their top-six forward group — with the likes of William Nylander and Filip Forberg leading the way — to keep pace with the aforementioned juggernauts? It might come down to will over thrill for this Swedish team to be victorious.
United States
Captain: Auston Matthews
Assistant captains: Charlie McAvoy, Matthew Tkachuk
Keys to winning the gold medal: Do they want to play fast? Do they want to be physical? Do they want to constantly apply pressure? Do they want to create lines that can score? Do they want lines that make two-way play a priority? Or do they want all of the above?
Asking this many questions about the U.S. speaks to how many directions the tactics can go, with a roster that is arguably the most talented in the tournament, top to bottom. The notion that there appears to be several identities the U.S. could have makes this roster adaptable to every situation. That could prove useful in their bid to win gold.
X factor: The defensive pairings. Let’s recap. Adam Fox and Quinn Hughes are Norris Trophy winners. Charlie McAvoy and Jaccob Slavin have finished in the top 10 in Norris voting on multiple occasions. Zach Werenski and his point-per-game average is factoring into this season’ Norris discussion. Noah Hanifin‘s athleticism and length makes finding time and space a problem, while Brock Faber was already a legitimate No. 1 option as a rookie last season.
And yet? One of them will be the U.S.’s seventh defenseman up in the press box. Which combinations would make the most sense for the U.S.? And can those pairings help lead the nation to a first-place finish in the build-up to the 2026 Olympics?