NHL players haven’t represented their countries in the Olympics since 2014 or taken part in a best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The league will return to the 2026 Olympics after not going in 2018 and 2022. But first, this month’s 4 Nations Face-Off will serve as a warmup as NHL players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden compete in their national team jerseys.
“It’s been a while,” Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA captain Auston Matthews said. “It’s something that the players have been craving and looking forward to and the fans as well. I think it will be great for the game.”
Here’s what to know about the 4 Nations Face-Off:
The 4 Nations Face-Off will be held from Wednesday, Feb. 12, to Thursday, Feb. 20.
The first four round-robin games will be played at Montreal’s Bell Centre. The final two round-robin games and the championship game will be played at Boston’s TD Garden.
Games will be shown on TNT, ESPN and ABC.
Sling and MAX carry TNT games. Sling, Fubo and ESPN+ carry ESPN and ABC games.
(Times p.m. ET)
Each country will play one game against the other three nations during the round robin. Teams get three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win and one point for an overtime/shootout loss. The two teams with the best records play each other in the championship game.
Games will be played under NHL rules, except that overtime involves 10 minutes of 3-on-3 sudden death during the round robin rather than the NHL’s five minutes. If it’s still tied after 10 minutes, the game goes to a shootout. During the championship game, overtime is like NHL playoff overtime: 5-on-5 hockey for 20-minute periods until a goal is scored.
Rosters will be official Monday evening. Players listed alphabetically.
No., position, player, NHL team
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