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As the best NHL players prepare for their long -awaited return to the Olympic Games next year, a snack will be served in the next nine days such as Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland compete in the new confrontation of 4 nations .
Here is a manual in the mini tournaments full of stars, which opens on Wednesday night with Canada against Sweden in Montreal.
Who is the idea?
The NHL and the NHL players association confirmed the creation of the confrontation of the 4 nations during the last February festivities in Toronto. The announcement was combined with the official word that the League and the players had agreed to participate in the 2026 winter Games in Italy after skipping the 2018 and 2022 games.
The 4 nations are replacing the star game this year. Anyone who does not participate can enjoy a two weeks vacation before the regular NHL season resumes on February 22.
Why only four countries?
Ideally, the confrontation of the 4 nations would probably be a confrontation of the 6 nations, including Russia and the Czech Republic, the only other countries with enough NHL players to form a team. But Russia remains prohibited from international hockey (among other team sports) due to the war that began against Ukraine immediately after the 2022 Olympic Games.
While the NHL and the NHLPA technically do not have to honor the prohibition of the Russia of the International Ice Hockey Federation after deciding to execute (and benefit) of the 4 nations without cooperation of the global government body, that is a third railway Moral and political that they wisely decided not to touch. Czechs are simply collateral damage because a five -team tournament would really make no sense.
The NHL and the NHLPA expect Russia’s situation to be resolved soon because its ultimate goal is to bring a full hockey world cup back, which was played for the last time in 2016. The NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, said the year past that the plan is to establish a permanent cycle with the World Cup or the Olympic Games that take place every two years.
What is the format?
It is very simple. The tournament begins with a Round Robin where the four teams are played once. Then, the teams with the two best records face the championship game.
The first two games of each team are in Montreal before the tournament changes to Boston for the rest.
Look | Montreal ready to organize how the confrontation of 4 nations is approaching:
The Bell Center is the first of two places, organizing most of the world’s largest hockey stars while playing for their country in the best tournament for the first time in almost a decade.
During the Round Robin, the teams get three points for a victory in the regulation, two points for an extra time or shooting victory, a point for an extra time/shooting and zero points for a regulated defeat.
The extra time format for Round Robin is the sudden death of 3 against 3 for 10 minutes, followed by a shooting if necessary. For the championship game, OT changes to what we see in the NHL playoffs: sudden death of full force for periods of 20 minutes until someone notes.
What is the schedule?
Here is the complete list of seven games:
Wednesday, February 12
- Canada vs. Sweden, 8 pm et in Montreal
Thursday, February 13
- United States vs. Finland, 8 pm et in Montreal
Saturday, February 15
- Finland vs. Sweden, 1 pm et in Montreal
- United States vs. Canada, 8 pm et in Montreal
Monday, February 17
- Canada vs. Finland, 1 pm et in Boston
- Sweden vs. United States, 8 pm et in Boston
Thursday, February 20
- Championship game, 8 pm et in Boston
Who is playing?
Canada’s team is captained by Sydney Crosby, the two -time Olympic champion who scored the gold goal in 2010 in Vancouver. The Crosby state seemed to be in the air after the last two Pittsburgh Penguins games were lost with an injury at the top of the body, but the 37 -year -old man practiced in its entirety on Monday and pronounced himself well.
Crosby was one of Canada’s first teams when each team named six players in June. He joined the star striker Nathan Mackinnon, Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand and Brayden Point and the Cale Makar defense.
McDavid, the main player of his generation, and Mackinnon, the renant MVP of the NHL, have not had the opportunity to represent Canada in the best tournament since the best tournament since they played in the Junior World Championship a decade or more. They were teammates in the 2016 World Cup, where their North America team was made up of players under 24 years in Canada and the United States.
When the lists of 23 full men in December were announced, Canada added Mitch Marner de Toront Florida San Reinhart and Sam Bennett and Anthony Cirelli of Tampa Bay and Brandon Hagel.
In defense, Canada added Makar Toews Colorado teammate, Josh Morrissey of Winnipeg, Colton Parayko by St. Louis, Travis Sanheim of Philadelphia and the duo of Vegas by Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo. However, Pietrangelo retired due to an unleashed “ailment” and was replaced by Drew Doughty of the.
In the goal, Canada chose the little inspiring trio of Jordan Binnington by St. Louis, Adin Hill de Vegas and Sam Montembeault of Montreal. Chief coach Jon Cooper called Binnington its headline today.
The first six selections from the United States were the strikers Auston Matthews (the captain), Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk and the defenders Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes and Charlie Mcavoy. The star goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck, winner of the time trophy last season, was among the December teams.
The six originals of Sweden were the strikers Fosberg, William Nylander and Mika Zibanejad and defenders Victor Hedman (Captain), Gustav Forsling and Erik Karlsson. The initial goalkeeper projected Jacob Markstrom, lost due to injuries after being chosen in December, was replaced by Samuel Ersson from Philly.
Finland is headed by strikers Aleksander Barkov (Captain), Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen, the defenders Miro Heiskanen and that Lindell and goalkeeper Juuse Saros.
Here is the complete list of each team.
Who is not playing?
The Canadian stars who did not receive the call include the strikers Connor Bedard, Steven Stamkos, Mark Scheifele and Zach Hyman and the goalkeeper of Washington Logan Thompson, who has one of the best savings percentages in the NHL this season.
The Americans passed the striker Tage Thompson, who has 26 goals in 48 games for Buffalo, and lost the current winner of the Norris trophy, Quinn Hughes, after Vancouver’s defense was lost the last four games. It was replaced by Jake Sanderson from Ottawa.
In addition to losing Markstrom on the network, Sweden is without an injured wing William Karlsson. Finland lost three defenders due to an injury, Miro Heiskanen, Jani Hakanpaa and Rasmus Ristolainen, but received good news on Monday when the eaves star Mikko Rantanen said he is healthy enough to play after missing the last game of Carolina with a lesion of less body.
Who has the best team?
According to betting markets, Canada and the United States are essentially Cofavuritas to win the title. Its probabilities are around 3/2, while Sweden is north of 4/1 and Finland is a long 10/1 shot.
There is a buzz about Americans are the “real” favorites. They have a lot of fire power in advance with the tastes of Matthews, the current champion of the NHL goals, and Eichel, Kyle Connor and Jack Hughes, who are among the 10 best points this season. The loss of Quinn Hughes is large, but Fox is a former winner of the Norris trophy, the American blue line runs deeply and Hellebuyck is the best NHL goalkeeper.
Canada’s critics point to the goal as a potentially fatal weakness, and could be right. But Binnington and Hill have supported their NHL teams to the Stanley Cup championships, and a guy with lights in the fold may not be an absolute need when their skaters include McDavid (the best player in the world), Mackinnon (possibly The best best player in the tournament) and Makar (probably the most talented defense) along with Point and Reinhart (tied in third place in the league in goals at this time).
Regardless of who you think it deserves to be the favorite, most people agree that Canada and the United States are in a collision course for the Boston final. His round confrontation in Montreal this Saturday night should also pack a lot of intensity as Canadian nationalism and anti -Americanism are heated in front of the irritating commercial war threats of Donald Trump.
Maybe the hockey really does not matter so much in the great scheme of things, but it is still a way in which we know how to stick it to the United States.
