Day 1 of the 4 Nations Face-off will feature four Lightning players alongside head coach Jon Cooper.
The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament is finally here. Wednesday’s matchup will feature Lightning captain Victor Hedman with Team Sweden facing off against Team Canada which will feature Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel alongside head coach Jon Cooper and Julien BriseBois as Assistant GM.
Team Canada
Brayden Point has been centering a line with Bruins captain Brad Marchand and Carolina’s Seth Jarvis. Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli continue to skate on a line together with Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett.
"I don't like playing against guys you've gone to war with," Jon Cooper told reporters for NHL.com. "Now all of a sudden, it's for one game. I cheer for these guys. He's not playing for us, so you've got to put your blinders on. We have to do everything we can to stop him and win this game."
"All you can hope for at the end of the game is that Victor Hedman is best player on the ice for Sweden and Canada won the game."
Practice Lines
Forwards
Sam Reinhart - Connor McDavid - Mitch Marner
Mark Stone - Sidney Crosby - Nathan Mackinnon
Brad Marchand - Brayden Point - Seth Jarvis
Brandon Hagel - Anthony Cirelli - Sam Bennett
Defensemen
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Josh Morrissey - Colton Parayko
Shea Theodore - Drew Doughty
Goaltenders
Jordan Binnington
Team Sweden
Victor Hedman has been practicing on the top pairing, alongside Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin.
Hedman, who is captain of Team Sweden feels this could be the most individual skill he's seen from his country in recent years, including from Maple Leafs forward William Nylander. “He is a difference maker, a game changer, a guy who can win the game by himself,” Hedman told reporters on Wednesday. “Nothing gets to him. That’s the way he plays the game. He plays with high intensity, and I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself to be the difference-maker every time he steps on the ice.”
Practice Lines
Forwards
Filip Forsberg - Elias Pettersson - Adrian Kempe
Rickard Rakell - Mika Zibanajed - William Nylander
Jesper Bratt - Joel Eriksson Ek - Lucas Raymond
Viktor Arvidsson - Elias Lindholm - Gustav Nyquist
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Jonas Brodin
Rasmus Dahlin - Rasmus Andersson
Mattias Ekholm - Erik Karlsson
Goaltenders
Filip Gustavsson
Should be a fun one! Puck drop is at 8p.m. in Montreal.