Avalanche stars suit up for Four Nations Face-Off
The National Hockey League has been robbed of international best-on-best hockey. It has been 11 years since the last time NHL players were seen in the Olympics. For players unlucky enough to miss the playoffs or be eliminated, the annual IIHF World Championship presents an opportunity to suit up for their home countries, but this is a far cry from international best-on-best.
The NHL Four Nations Face-Off is a step in the right direction for a league that has woefully mismanaged the international prospects of its most talented players. The Avalanche have three players representing Team Canada, none of whom have played in the Olympics. Cale Makar and Devon Toews remain a tandem as Canada’s top defensive pairing, and Nathan MacKinnon will play center on a line with Sidney Crosby and Mark Stone.
Before the Four-Nations Face-Off, Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, in their eleventh and ninth seasons respectively, have only played together once. McDavid has no international accolades beyond the World Junior Championship, and MacKinnon has none at all. These are two of Canada’s most talented forwards—arguably the two best centers in the league— and they had never played together for Team Canada. In comparison, by the time Sidney Crosby was in his tenth NHL season, he had two Olympic gold medals, World Championship gold, World Cup of Hockey gold, and a variety of individual accolades. The Four Nations Face-Off is not the Olympics. It hardly compares. However, it is a window into what Olympic hockey will look like in 2026 with these players still in their prime.
This iteration of Team Canada’s roster has a decade of anticipation behind it, and it’s safe to say they met and exceeded expectations. Less than a minute into last Wednesday’s game, MacKinnon drew a high-sticking penalty from Sweden’s William Nylander and gave viewers an early look at Team Canada’s power play unit. The first line consisted of MacKinnon, McDavid, Crosby, Makar, and Sam Reinhart. Twelve seconds into the power play, Crosby received the puck from McDavid below the face-off circle and sent it backhand to MacKinnon, who one-timed it past goaltender Filip Gustavsson.
With a second goal from Brad Marchand in the 13th minute, Canada dominated the first period with a 2-0 score. Sweden fell into form in the second period with a goal from Jonas Brodin, but Canada would follow late in the period with a goal from Stone. Sweden’s Adrian Kempe and Joel Eriksson Ek would both score in the third period to tie the game at 3-3 and send it to a 3v3 overtime.
Nathan MacKinnon was an offensive powerhouse in overtime with multiple rush chances saved by Gustavsson, but ultimately it was a pass from Crosby to Mitch Marner who sniped the puck over Gustavsson‘s shoulder to win the very first game of the tournament. Between the combined speed of MacKinnon and McDavid, Toews’ and Makar’s natural chemistry, and Crosby‘s veteran leadership, Canada is a force to be reckoned with.
After a 3-1 victory over Canada on Saturday night, Team USA already clinched their spot in the Four Nations championship game, played in TD Garden this Thursday.