4 Nations: How Are Pittsburgh Penguins Faring At The Tournament So Far?

Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson, and Mike Sullivan have all made an impression on their respective teams

With the official halfway point of the 4 Nations Face-off tournament in the books, the NHL is experiencing resounding success in its first bout of international play since 2016.

And representatives of the Pittsburgh Penguins - past and present - are playing a big part in that.

Mike Sullivan's Team USA has already clinched a spot in Thursday's championship game at T.D. Garden in Boston, and Sidney Crosby and Team Canada can clinch with a regulation win against Finland on Monday.

Here is how each Penguin in the tournament has fared so far:

It's hard to argue with the results so far for Team USA. Sullivan's fingerprints have been all over both regulation wins for the U.S., as he's made a few coaching decisions and adjustments to help steer his team to victory.

During the game against Finland, he made the choice to put Brady and Matthew Tkachuk on the same line, which paid dividends. He and Quinn also decided to change the defensive pairings against Canada to get more out of their matchups. 

But above all, Sullivan's hard-forechecking system is on full display. Team USA is winning puck battles, playing committed two-way hockey, implementing a trap-style defense, and executing on the rush, and using an aggressive forechecking attack.

The team's power play is also clicking at 40 percent, which is the best team mark in the tournament so far. The structure is the same as the Penguins' successful power play this season, which is a credit to Quinn's work.

Team USA is the only team with six points. The rest have two. They have been dominant, and the coaching has been a big part of that.

Crosby's first game against Sweden on Wednesday was a masterclass. The 37-year-old captain - the oldest player in the tournament - registered three remarkable assists, including the primary assist on Mitch Marner's overtime winner, on the way to a 4-3 victory.

However, it was a bit of a mixed bag for Crosby against Team USA on Saturday. The team as a whole couldn't get much generated against a stingy American defense, and Crosby committed an egregious turnover in Canada's attacking zone that led directly to Dylan Larkin's game-winning goal.

Crosby doesn't take wearing the maple leaf lightly, and he was visibly frustrated with himself after the game. It would not be surprising to see Crosby come back with a vengeance against Finland on Monday.

Even though Rakell has not technically gotten himself on the scoresheet yet, he's been a very good player for Sweden so far in this tournament. 

In Sweden's first game against Canada, Rakell provided a perfect screen on Jonas Brodin's goal in the second period, and he was a force on the forecheck all night. He was also very good against Finland, as he was consequential on Sweden's first goal with his work along the walls and helped break Sweden out of the defensive zone leading up to Erik Karlsson's goal.

He has been solid in all three zones, has helped generate a lot of offense, and has been one of the most physical players in the tournament. Even though he was technically demoted from the first line against Finland, he has been one of Sweden's best players. 

Now, he just needs the production to follow against Team USA on Monday.

Karlsson has, arguably, been Sweden's best player. He is tied for eighth overall and is second in scoring among defensemen in the tournament - behind only Team USA's Zach Werenski - with a goal and an assist.

And both his goal and his assist were vintage Karlsson stuff: a nice move around a Canadian defender for a helper on Adrian Kempe's goal and a snipe off the rush to score against Finland:

Karlsson looks comfortable and like his elite self alongside defensive partner Mattias Ekholm, and his creativity is on full display. The Penguins would certainly welcome this version of Karlsson once the 4 Nations break concludes.

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