The NHL season is now on pause to make way for the 4 Nations Face-Off, an international tournament featuring the NHL’s best players from four of hockey’s most prominent countries: Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland.
Here’s a glance at what the tournament will look like, in addition to a full viewing schedule.
What is the purpose of the 4 Nations Face-Off?
Ever since the NHL barred its players from competing at the 2018 Olympics, there has been a strong demand for best-on-best international hockey. The league sees this as an opportunity to provide that.
The tournament replaces the all-star game, which has drawn much criticism in recent years for reasons including its lack of competitiveness and its over-the-top gimmicks. It’s also a precursor for the 2026 Olympics, to which the NHL has committed to send its players.
Utah Hockey Club players at the 4 Nations Face-Off
Two Utah Hockey Club defensemen will represent their home country of Finland: Olli Määttä and Juuso Välimäki.
Finland ran into some tough injury luck in the weeks preceding the tournament, losing three defensemen — including superstar Miro Heiskanen. For that reason, Määttä and Välimäki are likely to get more ice time than they otherwise may have had.
“I think there’s a lot of pride in the fact you’re trying to be the best in the world,” Välimäki said.
Both Välimäki and Määttä have played for Team Finland on a number of occasions, but this is Välimäki’s first time doing it as an adult. All of his previous experience was in various junior tournaments.
Määttä has played in the Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey and the World Championships, in addition to his participation in junior tournaments.
What does everyone else do during the 4 Nations break?
The NHL has a few breaks each year during which teams are not permitted to hold practices or meetings. This is one of those breaks.
It gives the players and staff a chance to get away from hockey for a bit. Many players choose to take vacations, often to sunny parts of the world.
For Utah’s Josh Doan, though, it’s not a break at all. The team sent him back to the AHL immediately after Sunday’s game against the Washington Capitals, despite the fact that he has goals in two consecutive games.
It’s almost a sure thing that UHC will call him back up when the NHL schedule resumes. His AHL assignment will allow him to continue playing and keep his confidence high. A number of other NHL teams have done the same with their players on entry-level contracts.
4 Nations Face-Off format and schedule
The first four days of the tournament will be in Montreal. On Sunday, all four teams will travel to Boston to finish out the tournament.
The standings will use the three-point system: three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss and zero points for a regulation loss.
Every team will play every other team in a round robin scenario. The two teams with the most points after the round robin will compete in the championship game.
Here’s the full schedule in Mountain Standard Time:
- Wednesday, Feb. 12: Canada vs. Sweden, 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 13: USA vs. Finland, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 15: Finland vs. Sweden, 11 a.m.; USA vs. Canada, 6 p.m.
- Monday, Feb. 17: Canada vs. Finland, 11 a.m.; Sweden vs. USA, 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 20: Championship game, 6 p.m.
The games will be broadcast on a number of channels and platforms. For a full schedule, see the NHL website.