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🚨 Headlines
⛷️ Shiffrin makes history: Mikaela Shiffrin (alongside teammate Breezy Johnson) won the new team combined event on Tuesday at the World Championships for her eighth gold and 15th medal overall at worlds — both modern-era records (since WWII).
⚽️ Madrid stuns City: Real Madrid stunned Manchester City on Tuesday, scoring twice in the final minutes for a 3-2 victory in the first leg of their Champions League playoff. Full scoreboard.
⚾️ MLB offseason: Kenley Jansen, MLB’s active saves leader, is heading to the Angels (1 year, $10M); Clayton Kershaw, MLB’s active ERA leader, is reportedly nearing a deal to return to the Dodgers for an 18th season.
🏀 Raptors extend Ingram: Brandon Ingram, traded from the Pelicans to the Raptors at the deadline, signed a three-year, $120 million extension with Toronto on Tuesday.
🏒 Best-on-best hockey: The 4 Nations Face-Off
Instead of an All-Star Game this season, the NHL is staging the 4 Nations Face-Off, a week-long tournament beginning today that features national teams made up entirely of NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
NHL back on the world stage: This is the first best-on-best international hockey tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and the timing is no mistake: The 4 Nations serves as a “bit of an appetizer,” says NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, for the NHL’s return to the Olympics next year — the first Winter Games featuring NHL players since Sochi 2014.
Notes:
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Schedule and format: The four-team round-robin runs from today through Monday. Whichever two teams have the best record will play in the championship on Feb. 20.
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Venues: This week’s games are at Montreal’s Bell Centre (Canadiens); next week’s, including the championship, are at Boston’s TD Garden (Bruins).
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Two teams left out: The first-place Capitals and last-place Sharks are the only teams without a player in the 4 Nations.
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Stars take the ice: 25 of the league’s top 50 current scoring leaders — including seven of the top 10 — are playing in the tournament.
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Betting odds: Canada is a slight favorite to win (+145 at BetMGM) ahead of the U.S. (+150), while Sweden (+425) and Finland (+1000) are the underdogs.
What they’re saying: 82% of the NHL players surveyed by The Athletic ($) are excited for the 4 Nations. “I think it’s sick….