Canada is desperate for a win in their final round-robin game of the 4 Nations Face-Off. After dropping a disappointing game against the United States, Canada must defeat Finland in regulation to guarantee their spot in the finals and a rematch against Team USA.
Looking for a boost in the elimination game, Canada and Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper is shuffling his forward lines. He's looking for some improved chemistry and more production across all four lines, and is hopeful this is the right combination.
The top line for the Canadians is anchored by Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid. Flanking the best player in the world is Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone and Lightning scorer Brayden Point.
Cooper also opted to reunite Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. The prides of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, are thick as thieves off the ice and feed well off each other on the ice. Crosby leads the team in points with three, and MacKinnon has one goal so far. Team Canada is counting on the pair to spark the offense against Finland.
Canada in warmups:
Point-McDavid-Stone
Crosby-MacKinnon-Reinhart
Hagel-Cirelli-Marner
Marchand-Bennett-Konecny
Toews-Makar
Morrissey-Parayko
Sanheim-Doughty
Binnington (Hill backup)
Cooper also made the big change of bringing Philadelphia Flyers veteran Travis Konecny back into the lineup. He was a healthy scratch against the USA, but the scrappy and talented forward is back in a must-win game for Canada.
One other positive note is that Canada will have its best defenseman back. Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar missed the team's last game due to illness. Without him, Canada looked significantly worse in all aspects of the game. His return is the biggest boost to Canada's lineup, and it comes at the perfect time.
With a full arsenal of players, Canada is aiming to seal their spot in the finals. They need to get past Finland first, but Cooper is hoping he is pulling the right strings to get his team to that gold medal game.
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