The Hockey News' Emma Lingan and Michael Augello discuss the pros and cons of an in-season tournament in the NHL, similar to the NBA Cup. Based on Team Sweden's morning skate line rushes Monday, former Nashville Predators Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson have been benched ahead of their must-win 4 Nations Face-Off game against the United States. The two players replacing them in Sweden's lineup are Anaheim Ducks youngster Leo Carlsson and Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. Arvidsson, 31, has struggled with injuries [https://www.nhl.com/oilers/player/viktor-arvidsson-8478042] since his early days with the Predators and was limited to just 18 games with Los Angeles last season. The former 2014 fourth-round pick joined Edmonton in the offseason with plenty of promise ahead of him, but Arvidsson has parlayed that into just seven goals, 11 assists, and 18 points in 40 games despite his history of five 20-goal seasons. Sweden has managed to score six goals in two games with Arvidsson in the lineup, but the former Predators forward has played just 19 minutes with zero points and two shots on goal to show for it. Current Predators winger Gustav Nyquist has had an equally non-descript 4 Nations tournament [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/latest-news/predators-juuse-saros-benched-kevin-lankinen-steals-show-vs-sweden] and has played even less than Arvidsson, but given Carlsson's place in line rushes, Nyquist will remain in the lineup for the pivotal matchup with the U.S. Sweden's decision to bench Ekholm was a little more surprising, as the Oilers rearguard assisted Adrian Kempe's third-period goal to bring Sweden within one and was the No. 3 defenseman by ice time in the opening game against Canada. At the same time, the 34-year-old was a distant last amongst Swedish defensemen in ice time in Saturday's game against Finland, trailing Rasmus Dahlin by over two minutes. By replacing Ekholm with Andersson, Sweden will now be deploying four left-shot defensemen instead of five. A wise tactical decision by head coach Sam Hallam, if nothing else. Predators fans can watch Monday night's game between Sweden and the U.S. on TNT at 7 p.m.
