The opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off will answer the question of whether opponents can shut down Canada’s high-powered offense.
It also will answer whether Canada’s goaltenders can shut down opponents.
Canadian goaltending is considered a weakness at the tournament, and St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington will get the call against Sweden on Wednesday night to try to show otherwise. None of the three Canadian goalies has a save percentage above .900, but Binnington and Adin Hill have won Stanley Cup titles.
Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, who’s getting the start for Sweden in the opening game, will face the tournament’s top offense. Team Canada has nine of the top 25 scorers in the league, including reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon and three-time winner Connor McDavid.
Canada-Sweden is the lone game on the schedule Wednesday. The USA and Finland play Thursday night.
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Here’s what to know about the opening night of the 4 Nations Face-Off and the schedule for the full tournament:
Josh Morrissey is called for high-sticking Joel Eriksson Ek. Canada kills it off.
Connor McDavid feeds Devon Toews, but Sweden goalie Filip Gustavsson gets over and robs Toews.
Lucas Raymond picks up his second assist of the game with a nice pass to Jesper Bratt. Bratt feeds Joel Eriksson Ek near the crease, and he scores at 8:59.
Sweden’s Adrian Kempe takes a feed from Erik Karlsson, gains the zone and beats Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington clean from between the faceoff circles at 1:54 of the third. Canada 3, Sweden 2
Canada leads 3-1.
Canada defenseman Shea Theodore, injured early in the second period, won’t return to the game, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported. Canada will play with five defensemen the rest of the game.
Sweden, stymied in the first period, outshoots Canada 9-7 in the second period. The Swedes were helped by Canada being short on defense after an injury to Shea Theodore. Jonas Brodin connected for Sweden’s first goal of the tournament. But Sidney Crosby, as he often does for Team Canada, comes up big. He picked up his great second assist of the game to set up Mark Stone and restore Canada’s two-goal lead.
Sidney Crosby enters the zone with speed, spins and feeds a charging Mark Stone at 17:28. That’s two nice assists in the game by Crosby, who wasn’t even certain last week to be able to play in the tournament. Canada 3, Sweden 1.
Canada’s Shea Theodore had X-rays, according to TNT’s Jackie Redmond. He appeared to be favoring his wrist after a hit from Adrian Kempe.
Sweden hasn’t had much sustained pressure in Canadian zone. They finally do and get a goal. Lucas Raymond gets the puck off Canada’s Drew Doughty, feeds the point and Victor Hedman finds Jonas Brodin. He beats Jordan Binnington through a screen at 9:33. Canada 2, Sweden 1.
Sweden’s Adrian Kempe hits Canada’s Shea Theodore into the boards and the Golden Knights defenseman looks to be in pain. He heads to the dressing room.
Canada leads 2-0.
Canada controls the first period. In addition to striking early with the power play, Canada held Sweden to three shots. Sweden didn’t get a shot on goal until late in the period.
Canada gets a 2-on-1 break and Brayden Point feeds Brad Marchand for a 2-0 lead at 13:15 of the first period. The Boston Bruins captain, usually booed inside Montreal’s Bell Centre gets cheers instead. Canada 2, Sweden 0.
The Canadian power play has Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Reinhart and Cale Makar. The first three needed just 12 seconds of power play time to connect for a MacKinnon goal at 56 seconds of the first period. Great backhand pass by Crosby. Canada 1, Sweden 0.
Canada and Sweden will play at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
The Canada-Sweden game will be broadcast on TNT.
Sling and MAX carry TNT games.
The World Cup of Hockey will return in February 2028, and the NHL and players association envision a continuing cycle of alternating Olympics and World Cups every two years.
Details are still to be worked out, but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said it would involve “at least” eight countries. Cities, including those in Europe, can start bidding in the coming months. Bettman said he didn’t foresee any melded teams, as happened in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey with smaller European countries forming one team and the North American “Young Guns” forming another.
It’s up in the air whether Russian players can take part because of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The International Ice Hockey Federation recently voted to ban Russian players from its championships for another year, through the 2025-26 season.
(Times p.m. ET)
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