First day of 4 Nations practices show who Panthers players are lining up with
Sam Reinhart found himself alongside some big Canadian stars during the first practice of the day
The puck has dropped on the 4 Nations frenzy taking place this week in Montreal.
That’s where the first half of the NHL’s best-on-best tournament is going down before the scene shifts to Boston next week.
On Monday, all four nations held their first official team practices.
That gave us an initial look at how the eight Florida Panthers players will be lining up when the games begin on Thursday and Friday.
The first practice of the day went to Team Canada, which features Panthers forwards Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart.
Skating on the left side of the top line is where Reinhart found himself, skating alongside Connor McDavid and Mitch Marner.
Reinhart also was on what appeared to be Canada’s first power play unit, with McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Bennett, meanwhile, found himself skating on what could be viewed as a checking line of sorts, one that featured Tampa Bay teammates Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli.
Next up on the ice was Team USA.
That’s where we found red-hot Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, though once the line rushes began, there was a little disappointment that came with them.
Despite both Matthew and his brother Brady being selected for Team USA, American Head Coach Mike Sullivan did not having them skating on the same line Monday.
Instead, Matthew skated on the right side of what appeared to be the top line with Kyle Connor and Jack Eichel.
Brady was on the right side of a forward line with J.T. Miller and Matt Boldy.
Team Sweden hit the ice next, though Panthers defenseman Gus Forsling did not participate.
He was held out of practice due to an illness, team officials announced.
Hopefully Forsling is well enough to skate when the Finns practice again on Tuesday afternoon.
It will be interesting to see where he slots in, as Sweden has several strong left-shooting blueliners, such as Victor Hedman, Mattias Ekholm and Rasmus Dahlin.
The final practice of the day went to Team Finland.
Well, it actually looked more like an optional morning skate than a practice, as there were only 11 skaters and two goaltenders on the ice.
Among them was captain Sasha Barkov, who is expected to shoulder a heavy load for the Finns.
Similar to his role with the Panthers, that will likely include top line, power play and shorthanded duties.
We’ll be keeping an eye on what the Panthers players at 4 Nations are up to all throughout the tournament, so stay tuned!
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