xXx..CK..xXx Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 With not much to discuss in terms of a lack of games over the next couple of weeks, I thought it may be nice to have a thread where we could discuss the event. The 4 Nations Face-Off begins tomorrow, February 12th and runs through February 20th, 2025. Montreal will host the first three games with the final 3 games being played in Boston. How are people feeling about it? Is it a good replacement for the All Star Game? My two thoughts are conflicting: 1) I am not a big fan of such a long break during the season. Then again, we did have bye weeks implemented recently anyway. 2) I am excited to see the best on best play. I am generally a positive person and didn’t mind all star festivities like a lot of people but I am certain that we will see good intensity throughout the tournament relative to an all star game, and there are some very solid players playing together. It should be exciting. Without further ado, here are the rosters of the 4 nations within the tournament: Team Canada Reinhart - McDavid - Marner Crosby - Mackinnon - Stone Marchand - Point - Jarvis Hagel - Cirelli - Bennett Konecny (extra) (illness) (would take Bennett’s spot) Toews - Makar Theodore - Doughty Morrissey - Parayko Sanheim (extra) Binnington Hill Montembeault Team USA Connor - Eichel - M. Tkachuk Guentzel - Matthews - J. Hughes Boldy - Miller - B. Tkachuk Larkin - Trochek - Nelson Kreider (extra) Werenski - McAvoy Slavin - Fox Hanifin - Faber Sanderson (extra) Hellebuyck Oettinger Swayman Team Sweden Forsberg - Pettersson - Kempe Rakell - Zibanejad - Nylander Bratt - Eriksson Ek - Raymond Arvidsson - Lindholm - Nyquist Carlsson (extra) Hedman - Brodin Forsling - Dahlin Ekholm - Karlsson Andersson (extra) Gustavsson Ullmark Ersson Team Finland Lehkonen - Barkov - Rantanen Hintz - Aho - Laine Teravainen - Haula - Armia Luostarinen - Lundell - Granlund Mikkola - Lindell Valimaki - Maata Vaakanainen - Matinpalo Jokiharju Saros Lankinen Ukko-Pekka Lukkanen Thoughts: - Canada should have taken Suzuki - Crosby is playing wing - Binnington has won the crease - Montembeault on the team as third string - USA have power up front - Quinn Hughes will not be participating due to injury - Current best goalie in Hellebuyck - Sweden have great D and may be the most balanced team - (though losing Markstrom in net hurts) - Finland lost some key defenseman (Heiskanen, Ristolainen) prior to the tournament - Look to be the weakest team on paper - With that being said, I expect them to play Finland hockey and be within striking range of any opponent they face. - Outside of Montembeault, Finland has the only Habs players in Armia and Laine - Former Hab Lehkonen is also on the roster, and 1st line to boot I’ll be at the first game tomorrow (Canada vs Sweden) and then watch the rest of the tournament at home. 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF SCHEDULE At Bell Centre, Montreal Wednesday, Feb. 12 Canada vs. Sweden, 8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS Thursday, Feb. 13 United States vs. Finland, 8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS Saturday, Feb. 15 Finland vs. Sweden, 1 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS United States vs. Canada, 8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS At TD Garden, Boston Monday, Feb. 17 Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS Sweden vs. United States, 8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS Thursday, Feb. 20 Championship game, 8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS The format is a Round Robin with the top 2 teams “facing off” in the final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Not overly excited about this tournament and the fact that there are many seats available at the Bell Centre for tonight’s game suggests I’m not alone. Go Canada I guess 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Funny picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 2 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said: Not overly excited about this tournament and the fact that there are many seats available at the Bell Centre for tonight’s game suggests I’m not alone. Go Canada I guess I do think a lot of people share your sentiment. That being said, tickets are going for around $200+ tonight and ~$500+ for the Canada vs USA game. If the quality of hockey is decent, perhaps people get into it as the tournament progresses. We shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 Gaudreau made the team, but Caufield didn’t. (Not intended in any kind of malicious way - RIP Johnny) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 No Russia. No Czechia. No Slovakia. It's ok I guess, but I'm definitely not as interested as I was in past Olympics or world cup. Canada goaltending gonna be an issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 My dad got some tickets via his job (he does guided tours at the Bell Centre as a retirement job) for the Sweden vs Finland game on Saturday. 106, CC (3rd row from the board), for free. Insane tickets !!! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanes World Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 5 minutes ago, JoeLassister said: My dad got some tickets via his job (he does guided tours at the Bell Centre as a retirement job) for the Sweden vs Finland game on Saturday. 106, CC (3rd row from the board), for free. Insane tickets !!! Sweet!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 1 hour ago, BCHabnut said: No Russia. No Czechia. No Slovakia. It's ok I guess, but I'm definitely not as interested as I was in past Olympics or world cup. Canada goaltending gonna be an issue? Including Czechs and Slovaks would really have required extending it to non-NHL players. And Russians are going to be pariahs as long as their aggression in Ukraine drags on. But this should be significantly more interesting than an all-star game, with some real intensity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 2 hours ago, BCHabnut said: No Russia. No Czechia. No Slovakia. It's ok I guess, but I'm definitely not as interested as I was in past Olympics or world cup. Canada goaltending gonna be an issue? It works both ways as here are the numbers in terms of NHL players by nation: 1) Canada - 291 (40.1%) 2) USA - 204 (28.7%) 3) Sweden - 66 (9.3%) 4) Russia - 46 (6.5%) 5) Finland - 37 (5.2%) 6) Czechia - 22 (3.1%) 7) Switzerland - 10 (1.4%) 8} Slovakia - 8 (1.1%) 9) Germany - 7 (1%) 10) Latvia - 5 (.07%) One has to remember that this is an NHL event so comparing it to the Olympics, well they’re just different. Not to say you said anything wrong because I understand your point and likely would enjoy the Olympics more as well. With that being said, while some people wish Russia was participating because the event would be stronger and really showcase the “best on best”, including teams like Czechia (and I have Czech heritage), Switzerland, Slovakia, etc. would actually “water down” the competition. We can already see that a few injuries have hurt Finland’s depth since they only have 37 players to choose from. Czechia has 22 players, and the size of the roster is 24 players. These nations listed below Finland simply could not be included. I get that this still doesn’t change the fact that a competition with those hockey nations may be considered better, but unfortunately it’s simply not plausible for an NHL hosted event. I also understand why Russia was not included so it’s really not a reason for people to boycott the event. This is not in reference to your post, but a statement in general as I’ve heard the comment about Russia not being included as a reason that the event isn’t really going to be the “best on best” quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 4 hours ago, tomh009 said: Including Czechs and Slovaks would really have required extending it to non-NHL players. And Russians are going to be pariahs as long as their aggression in Ukraine drags on. But this should be significantly more interesting than an all-star game, with some real intensity. Don't want to get political but all the good hockey that was played when ussr invaded Afghanistan would have been canceled today I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 3 hours ago, BCHabnut said: Don't want to get political but all the good hockey that was played when ussr invaded Afghanistan would have been canceled today I suppose. To put the "non-politics" in context, invading Afghanistan is not comparable to invading Ukraine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 Pretty crazy in here pre-game 🍁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Canada moves the puck up the ice with precision and lightning speed. I like the Point line a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 3 hours ago, GHT120 said: To put the "non-politics" in context, invading Afghanistan is not comparable to invading Ukraine. Oh. So far about 14000 deaths in the Ukraine war. 1 to 3 million in the Afghan one. Definitely not comparable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Good hockey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 33 minutes ago, BCHabnut said: Oh. So far about 14000 deaths in the Ukraine war. 1 to 3 million in the Afghan one. Definitely not comparable. Um that's wrong. 14,000 is the 2014 invasion of Donbass. The current phase of the war, which began in 2022 is estimated to be close to 1 million casualties (defined as dead plus severely injured). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 10 minutes ago, Commandant said: Um that's wrong. 14,000 is the 2014 invasion of Donbass. The current phase of the war, which began in 2022 is estimated to be close to 1 million casualties (defined as dead plus severely injured). Um. You're correct. I didn't read enough. Um. In late November 2024, based on all previous estimates of Ukrainian military casualties, The Economist estimated Ukrainian losses at between 60,000 and 100,000 killed. Still lot less than one to 3 million killed. Not wounded and returned to action. Let the Russians play I says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 6 minutes ago, BCHabnut said: Um. You're correct. I didn't read enough. Um. In late November 2024, based on all previous estimates of Ukrainian military casualties, The Economist estimated Ukrainian losses at between 60,000 and 100,000 killed. Still lot less than one to 3 million killed. Not wounded and returned to action. Let the Russians play I says. Again, wrong number... you are just looking at military losses, we have to include civilian casualties. And that doesn't even get into the fact that Putin, through state controlled TV, uses his national teams and sports for propaganda purposes. And you've also ignored the 1980 Olympic Boycott, and Russian Boycott of 1984 in your analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I also think that the fact society has different standards in 2025 vs 1980 isn't a bad thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Just now, Commandant said: Again, wrong number... you are just looking at military losses, we have to include civilian casualties. And that doesn't even get into the fact that Putin, through state controlled TV, uses his national teams and sports for propaganda purposes. And the ussr didn't use its sports teams? How many Iraqi people were murdered in the bs invasion by usa in 03? This war is disgusting. All war is in the last 70 years. Still, it's not egregiously worse than ussr afgan or usa Iraq. Let the Russians play I says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Whoop. Marner. That gus save was phenomenal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 4 minutes ago, BCHabnut said: And the ussr didn't use its sports teams? How many Iraqi people were murdered in the bs invasion by usa in 03? This war is disgusting. All war is in the last 70 years. Still, it's not egregiously worse than ussr afgan or usa Iraq. Let the Russians play I says. Again, standards have changed between 1980 and 2024, as they should. #### putin I says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Absolutely screw putin. Horrible human being. Heard he's not good at hockey anyway, so he prolly wouldn't make the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 4 minutes ago, BCHabnut said: Absolutely screw putin. Horrible human being. Heard he's not good at hockey anyway, so he prolly wouldn't make the team. He scores like 15 goals everytime he plays, STUD! Binnington redeemed himself in OT. Great game! Such a treat to watch these legends share the ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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