‘This is as big as it gets’: Everything you need to know about the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off
A new tournament is pitting some of the biggest stars in the NHL against each other, and the North American teams have gotten off to winning starts.
The 4 Nations Face-Off began on Wednesday when Canada threw away a two-goal lead in regulation but came back to snatch a 4-3 overtime victory against Sweden thanks to a winner from Mitch Marner.
Team USA put in a more convincing performance, swatting Finland aside with a 6-1 win after “The Star-Spangled Banner” had been booed inside the Bell Centre in Montreal before the game.
But what is the 4 Nations Face-Off? Here’s everything you need to know.
How to watch
With the first round of fixtures complete, February 15 will see two games take place at Montreal’s Bell Centre – Finland vs. Sweden at 1 p.m. ET, and a potentially feisty matchup between the US and Canada at 8 p.m. ET. In the US, both games are live on ABC and ESPN+.
On February 17, the two games will take place at TD Garden in Boston. The first, Canada vs. Finland, takes place at 1 p.m. ET. The second, Sweden vs. the US, starts at 8 p.m. ET. Both matches are live on TNT, truTV and MAX.
The championship game at TD Garden is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 20, and is live on ESPN and ESPN+.
What is the 4 Nations Face-Off?
The first best-on-best tournament to feature NHL players since 2016’s World Cup of Hockey, the 4 Nations Face-Off sees top players from the US, Canada, Finland and Sweden compete for the right to call themselves the best in the world.
Replacing the NHL’s annual All-Star game, the likes of Connor McDavid, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikko Rantanen and William Nylander will all be lining up, and they do not appear to be treating it like an exhibition competition.
“The season’s a long season – the regular season – especially after the last few years with deep runs in the playoffs,” said Tkachuk ahead of the tournament. “I just think coming here, it brings me right back to the Stanley Cup finals. The same mindset, the same stuff leading into it. These games, to me and my team, this is as big as it gets for us. We’re talking four Game 7s.
“You want to play in these games. It’s what you dream about, these best-on-best, must-win games. So the intensity will ramp up very, very fast.”
How does it work?
Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games were the beginning of a round-robin format in which each team plays each other once, before the top two face off in the final on February 20. There is no game to decide third place.
If teams are tied at the end of the round-robin, they are separated by their head-to-head record.
Unlike the NHL, teams receive three points for a win in regulation, two points for a win in overtime or in a shootout, one point for an overtime or shootout loss and zero points for a loss in regulation.
The competition’s overtime rules are also slightly modified from the NHL’s regular season – instead of five minutes, overtime in round-robin games lasts 10 minutes, before a shootout if the teams cannot be separated. The final, however, sticks to 20-minute sudden-death overtime periods, with no shootout, until a winner is decided.
Only NHL players are eligible to compete in the tournament.
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