The 4 Nations Face-Off runs from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20 to take the place of the NHL All-Star Game and serve as a condensed spinoff of the World Cup of Hockey, which hasn’t been held since 2016. Players from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland will compete in Montreal and Boston. The field of NHLers will be much greater at the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Games, but fans will finally get a sample of seeing some of the best players in the world competing against one another.
Whether you plan to participate in a pool, make bets or watch to fill the hockey void, there is plenty to pique your interest.
Who’s going into the face-off hot, who’s cold?
Matthew Tkachuk (USA) has been the hottest player in the league over the last 14 days, amassing seven goals and six assists during a six-game point streak. Brandon Hagel (CAN) registered six goals and 11 points in seven appearances, including a four-game spree. Aleksander Barkov (FIN) has produced three goals and eight helpers across his six-game point streak. Nathan MacKinnon (CAN) has two goals and eight assists in his past six matches. Sam Reinhart (CAN) has two goals and seven helpers during a six-game point spree. Jesper Bratt (SWE) has one goal and eight assists in his last six outings and is riding an eight-game point streak.
Elias Pettersson (SWE) has four assists in his last seven appearances and hasn’t scored a goal in nine consecutive contests. Patrik Laine (FIN) hasn’t earned a point in eight straight games. Gustav Nyquist (SWE) has gone six games without posting a point.
Line Combinations
All four teams were on the ice Monday for practices. Finland was the only squad that didn’t run line rushes because it was an optional session with only 11 skaters. Still, Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, Artturi Lehkonen and Mikael Granlund should figure prominently. Remember, the lineups could change on a game-to-game or shift-by-shift basis, but some intriguing combinations emerged.
Canada’s stacked top six featured MacKinnon-Sidney Crosby-Mark Stone and Sam Reinhart-Connor McDavid-Mitch Marner. Brayden Point skated between Brad Marchand and Seth Jarvis, while Hagel was alongside Anthony Cirelli and Sam Bennett. Travis Konecny didn’t participate because of an illness but could replace Bennett on the fourth line. Travis Sanheim rotated into the defense corps, but the main group appears to be Devon Toews-Cale Makar, Shea Theodore-Drew Doughty and Josh Morrissey-Colton Parayko.
Reinhart was in the first power-play…