And the beat goes on.
With two games down and all four teams at the 4 Nations Face-Off having faced off, we’re starting to get a look at who could be dangerous, and who might be in over their heads. Hours from now we’ll have the first two-game day kick off with Sweden taking on Finland, and the one everybody is looking most forward to, Canada and the U.S. later tonight.
Any concerns anyone had about these players not trying have quickly faded as what’s become clear is that no matter when a player can don the jersey of their country, they’re going to give it their all.

Game Information

  • Start Time: 11:00 AM MT
  • Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada
  • Watch: Sportsnet, TVAS (Canada), ABC, ESPN+ (USA)

Line Combinations

Sweden

The Swedes opened their tournament with a heartbreaking loss to the Canadians on Wednesday night watching Mitch Marner score an overtime game-winning goal. They held their heads above water against a stacked Canada team, finding ways to limit their two potent top lines.
The lineup they ran will remain the same later this morning, with a top line of Rickard Rakell, Mika Zibanejad and William Nylander. Most of Sweden’s offence, however, came from their third line of Jesper Bratt, Joel Eriksson Ek and Lucas Raymond, who combined for two of their three goals in their Game 1 loss.
Edmonton Oilers Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson had two different games, with the former munching minutes, notching an assist and adding two blocks. Arvidsson, meanwhile, has been relegated to a fourth-line role, where he saw the second fewest minutes.
Rakell – Zibanejad – Nylander
Forsberg – Pettersson – Kempe
Bratt – Eriksson Ek – Raymond
Arvidsson – Lindholm – Nyquist
Hedman – Brodin
Ekholm – Karlsson
Forsling – Dahlin
Gustavsson (Confirmed)

Finland

Finland entered the tournament as the long shot to make noise, and that became clear in their opening game Thursday against the Americans, getting drubbed 6-1. The score didn’t necessarily reflect the game as a whole, however, as they managed to tread water through the first two periods. The Americans opened it up in the third and ran away with it.
While everyone talked about an incredibly thin blue line for the Finns, it was their forward group who disappointed, mustering a measly 20 shots on goal. They’ll likely have an easier time against Sweden and they’re going to need a win in regulation to stay alive.
Lehkonen – Barkov – Rantanen
Hintz – Aho – Laine
Luostarinen – Lundell – Granlund
Teravainen – Haula – Armia
Mikkola – Lindell
Maatta – Jokiharju
Vaakanainen – Mantipalo
Lankinen (Confirmed)

Tournament Format and Rules

This is an unusually short international tournament with just four teams and seven games in total. Unlike the Olympics or World Championship, which features a group stage followed by a three-round playoff format, this one is simple: Record as many points as possible in three games. The two teams with the most points after Monday’s round-robin finale will advance to Thursday’s championship game and there will not be a bronze medal bout.
The 4 Nations Face-Off follows a more traditional international point structure rather than the NHL’s format. A regulation win will award a team three points, an overtime/shootout victory will pay two, and an overtime loss will result in one. That means a perfect 3-0-0-0 record will give a team nine points.
The NHL features five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime with a shootout if needed. At the 4 Nations Face-Off, extra time will be extended to 10 minutes, and then a shootout if needed. If overtime is required during the championship game, it will follow NHL playoff rules: 20 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey until someone scores.

Remaining Tournament Schedule

  • Saturday, Feb. 15: USA vs. Canada in Montreal, 6:00 PM MT
  • Monday, Feb. 17: Canada vs. Finland in Boston, 11:00 AM MT
  • Monday, Feb. 17:  Sweden vs. USA in Boston, 6:00 PM MT
  • Thursday, Feb. 20: Championship game in Boston, 6:00 PM MT
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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