All the sights, sounds, highlights from 1st game of international doubleheader in Montreal
© Bill Price
MONTREAL — Welcome to the 4 Nations Face-Off live blog. There is a doubleheader at Bell Centre today, with Finland playing Sweden at 1 p.m. and the United States playing Canada at 8 p.m. NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price is high atop the arena to provide all the sights, sounds and highlight from both games.
1:34 p.m. ET
Some lucky fan might be going home with a stick. Or might just be going home.
During a scrum behind the Finland net, one of the Swedish players had their stick lifted and it went flying into the netting. During a stoppage, a fan in a Canada jersey climbed up and got it, much to the delight to the crowd.
A few minutes later, two security people came and talked to him and I guess his son and they walked out.
We’ll see if they come back. Maybe they are working out a trade.
1:27 p.m. ET
Like it did against the U.S., Finland is staying right with Sweden. It even killed off the first penalty of the game, a hooking call against Niko Mikkola at 17:14.
Sweden’s best chance to score on the PP came when Lucas Raymond fed William Nylander a pass to the right of Kevin Lankinen. Before the fans could even start booing, Nylander whistled one wide of the net.
I’m really hoping to here some Swedish and Finnish music today — maybe some Amon Amarth or Ghost or even ABBA (which is all we heard Wednesday).
1:20 p.m. ET
And the puck has been dropped, starting what looks to be an epic day of international hockey.
Of course, William Nylander of Sweden and the Toronto Maple Leafs got booed. The fans are warming up for tonight.
It’s starting to sound like a pro-Finland crowd here, with Artturi Lehkonen, a former Canadiens forward, getting the biggest cheer.
The hot dog race is still where it was the other day because Shawn Roarke has not arrived at the arena yet, he was out in Brossard for Canada’s practice, so I’m sure once he arrives he may start expanding his one-dog lead over Tom Guiltti.
Dave Stubbs is also here, so though I didn’t plan on having a hot dog today, I’m now going to smother one with ketchup and eat it right in front of him.
As I told him, if ketchup was such a no-no, why are there bottles and bottles of it near the area where the hot dogs are served.
1:05 p.m. ET
Here are you starting lineups and scratches for Finland, which needs at least a point in this game to keep its hopes alive of reaching the 4 Nats Final Thursday in Boston:
For Finland:
Barkov, Lehkonen, Rantanen at forward
Mikkola and Lindell on D
Lankinen in goal
Scratched: Valimaki, Armia and Luukkonen
Also, Kaapo Kakko draws into the lineup for Armia and Lankinen starts over Saros.
And for Sweden:
Nylander, Zibanejad, Rakell at forward
Hedman and Brodin on D
Gustavsson in goal
And the same lineup as Game 1, with Leo Carlsson (F), Rasmus Andersson (D) and Samuel Ersson (G) scratched.
12:48 p.m. ET
The Finns and the Swedes are on the ice and we are about 30 minutes away from the start of this historic doubleheader.
The crowd is starting to file in and it appears to be a good mix of Finland and Sweden jerseys.
There is plenty at stake today and this game could impact if the US or Sweden make the 4 Nations Final.
Here are the clinching scenarios for today.
I know for a fact the crack team at NHL stats worked hours and hours to figure this out.
Here goes:
The United States will clinch a berth in the 4 Nations Face-Off Final:
* If it defeats Canada in regulation
OR
* If it defeats Canada in overtime or shootout AND Sweden loses to Finland in regulation
* * *
Canada will clinch a berth in the 4 Nations Face-Off Final:
* If it defeats the United States in regulation AND Finland loses to Sweden in any fashion
12:15 p.m. ET
We are about an hour away from the start of what is expected to be an epic day in Montreal. You could feel the buzz in the city this morning and that feeling only grew when you get closer to the arena.
The gates opened at 11:30, but fans were lined up at least an hour before that to get in. Once the doors opened, fans flew into the arena as if were Walmart on Black Friday.
And why not? Two of the greatest international hockey rivalries will be center stage today with the Swedes and Finns meeting up before the U.S.-Canada grudge match is played in prime time.
The big news for Canada is that top defensemen Cale Makar was on the ice out in Brossard, Quebec, this morning after his missed practice yesterday with an illness.
Remember, Canada is already down a defensemen with Shea Theodore out for the tournament, so a healthy Makar is huge.
As for the Finns and Swedes, it appears Kaapo Kakko will slot into the Finland lineup in place of Joel Armia, I’m sure that will make the Montreal Canadien fans in attendance very happy.
The teams are about to hit the ice for warmups. I’ll check back in a bit with any more news and the clinching scenarios for today.
Standings entering play Saturday, Feb. 15
