* Victor Hedman helped Tampa Bay skate to a fourth straight win while Dylan Guenther helped Utah outlast Washington in the final games before the hockey world converges upon Montreal and Boston for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
* The first best-on-best international tournament involving NHL players since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey will be played over a nine-day period using League rules, capped by the winner-take-all championship game next Thursday.
* Drew Doughty was named as a replacement for Alex Pietrangelo on Canada’s roster while Nikolas Matinpalo will step in for the injured Rasmus Ristolainen for Finland. Canada, Finland, Sweden and USA are set to hold practices at CN Sports Complex in the Montreal municipality of Brossard today before the tournament’s roster deadline at 5 p.m. ET.
4 Nations Face-Off opens with clash between Canada, Sweden on Wednesday
Best-on-best international competition returns this week when the League and NHLPA host the 4 Nations Face-Off, a seven-game tournament featuring NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and USA played over a nine-day period. The event opens with a clash between Canada and Sweden at Bell Centre on Wednesday, marking the first of four contests in Montreal before the tournament shifts to TD Garden in Boston.
* Games will be played in accordance with NHL rules (with the exception of OT, which will be 10:00 instead of 5:00 for round-robin games) and each team will contest three games in a traditional round-robin format under the following points system: 3 points for a win in regulation; 2 points for a win in overtime/shootout; 1 point for a loss in overtime/shootout; and 0 points for a loss in regulation. The two teams with the best record (including use of the tournament’s tiebreaking procedure, if necessary) will then advance to the winner-take-all championship game, which will feature the same overtime format as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The format and rules for each of the eight previous NHL International Tournaments can be found at the new first-of-its-kind section on Records.NHL.com.
* In addition to their normal operations out of Toronto and New York City, respectively, the NHL Hockey Operations Department and Department of Player Safety will be on-site in Montreal and Boston.
* Monday marks the first of two designated training/practice days and Media Day takes place tomorrow. The opener is followed by Finland facing USA on Thursday before a two-game Saturday featuring historic rivalries as Sweden squares off with Finland and Canada clashes with USA. Saturday is also when fans can visit the one-day Fan Festival in Montreal (11 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET) followed by a three-day Fan Village in Boston (Feb. 15-17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET). Both events are free to the public.
* A range of documents pertaining to the tournament are available on the League’s Media site (from the main menu, navigate to 4 Nations Face-Off to find an Overview and Media Schedule of Events), as well as on the new first-of-its-kind international section on Records.NHL.com. Updates to each #NHLStats Pack will be posted once rosters are finalized.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates from Sunday, Feb. 9
* Fantasy hockey rankings for 4 Nations Face-Off
* Drew Doughty named to Canada 4 Nations Face-Off roster
* Nikolas Matinpalo named to Finland 4 Nations Face-Off roster
* Igor Shesterkin out 1-2 weeks for Rangers with upper-body injury
TAMPA BAY, UTAH EARN WINS IN FINAL GAMES BEFORE 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF
Sunday’s two-game slate saw the Lightning and Utah Hockey Club both earn victories in the League’s final games before the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20.
HEDMAN LIFTS LIGHTNING TO FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN AHEAD OF 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF
Just three days before captaining Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Victor Hedman (1-1—2) helped the Lightning (31-20-4, 66 points) earn their second four-game winning streak of the season (also 4 GP from Dec. 12-19) and skate into the break two points back of the Maple Leafs (33-20-2, 68 points), who occupy second place in the Atlantic Division.
* Hedman, who will skate at Bell Centre again on Feb. 12 for Sweden’s opening game against Canada, became the first active defenseman to record 50 career points against Montreal (10-41—51 in 51 GP).
* The Lightning captain also notched his 179th career multi-point performance and passed Sergei Gonchar (178) for sole possession of 19th most by a defenseman in NHL history.
TWO QUICK TALLIES, GUENTHER’S 20TH GOAL HELP UTAH EARN VICTORY
Utah Hockey Club came out of the gates by matching the fastest two goals to start a game this season (1:42) before adding two more, capped by Dylan Guenther’s 20th tally of the season. The Capitals, however, rallied back led by Alex Ovechkin (0-3—3) – who passed Phil Esposito (1,590) for sole possession of 11th on the NHL’s all-time points list – and sent the contest to a shootout, where Utah (24-23-9, 57 points) prevailed to earn a crucial two points in its chase for a Wild Card spot.
* Guenther recorded his first career 20-goal campaign and tied Clayton Keller for the team lead in goals. He paces all players age 21 or younger this season in goals – Macklin Celebrini is second with 17.
NHL PODCASTS WEEKLY ROUNDUP
100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (Feb. 7): Keith Jones on Leading the Flyers, Building a Winner, and John Tortorella
NHL Fantasy on Ice (Feb. 6): Week 18 mailbag; D-man replacements
NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers (Feb. 6): Zach Werenski is ready for Four Nations: Surging Senators, the latest salary cup figures and having nightmares about the Substance
NHL @TheRink (Feb. 5): Kenny Albert joins; Miller trade recap, Red Wings & Islanders hot streak, 4 nations goalie talk
100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (Feb. 5): Re-Living Olympic Glory, Failure and Discussing Hockey’s Biggest Debates with Chris Pronger
La Tasse de Café LNH (Feb. 5): Les Canadiens sortis de la course aux séries?
Never Offside with Julie and Cat (Feb. 4): Caitlin Fitzgerald joins; Pressures of Montreal, Fan Questions, The Royal Wedding
Energy Line with Nate and JSB (Feb. 5): Premier Episode – Patrice Bergeron talks 4 Nations Face-Off, Marchands antics & USA/Canada rivalry
NHL Forček (Feb. 3): Forček, díl 3.: S Plekancem o Montrealu, Dobešovi i Slafkovském
NHL Fantasy on Ice (Feb. 3): J.T. Miller, Granlund trades; Week 18 pickups
100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (Feb. 3): Kevin Cheveldayoff on the Jets’ Success and Trade Deadline Strategy
NHL Schlagschuss (Feb. 3): Episode 17 – Stützle: „Ich liebe Eishockey immer noch“
