The 4 Nations Face-Off is currently underway. The tournament features teams from four countries, the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden, with games currently taking place in Montreal. But, games will soon move to Boston for the final matchups and championship game on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20.
Four Bruins players are participating in the tournament. Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman are playing for Team USA. McAvoy is additionally part of the leadership group for the team, wearing the ‘A’ along with Matthew Tkachuk while Auston Matthews serves as captain of the squad. Brad Marchand is also participating in the tournament for Team Canada, and rounding out Boston’s representation is Elias Lindholm, playing for Team Sweden.
With the tournament halfway through, it’s a good time to check in and see how the Bruins are doing on their respective international teams.
Charlie McAvoy & Jeremy Swayman, Team USA
As mentioned above, McAvoy is part of the leadership group for the team, and is playing on the top defensive pairing with Zach Werenski from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Team USA soundly beat Finland in their first game of the tournament. McAvoy did not have any points in the game, but was a plus-2 and played 19:45. In Team USA’s second match against Canada, he played 19:27. Once again he had no points in the game, but made a physical impact, including a memorable big hit on Connor McDavid.
As an additional fun fact for the tournament, the head coach for Team USA, Mike Sullivan from the Pittsburgh Penguins, is McAvoy’s father-in-law. It is the first time their hockey careers have overlapped, and is extra special since McAvoy and his wife just recently celebrated the birth of their first child.
The United States are fortunate enough to have great depth in the goaltending position at the moment. In both games so far, the team has decided to go with Connor Hellebuyck, who is having an incredible season for the Winnipeg Jets, as the starter and Jake Oettinger, from the Dallas Stars, as backup. Jeremy Swayman has thus been a healthy scratch so far in this tournament.
Hellebuyck and Oettinger have both been the stronger goaltenders through the 2024-25 season, so it makes sense that Swayman is the odd man out here, especially after an up-and-down start to his season. Hopefully, though, this gives him extra motivation to come back with some fire underneath him for the Bruins’ remaining games this season.
Brad Marchand, Team Canada
Given the depth of Canada’s talent, Marchand has not had many opportunities to represent Team Canada on the international stage. The last time the NHL went to the Olympics in 2014, he did not make the roster, a move some would consider a bit surprising. In the following two Olympics, he most likely would have made the roster if NHL players had participated, given that he was playing some of the best hockey of his career between 2018 and 2022.
Marchand has made it clear that he wants to play in the Olympics and is eyeing a roster spot for the 2026 Milano Cortina games. He’ll be 37 when those games begin, but a good performance here can help contribute to his argument to get a spot on that team.
So far, Marchand is making a decent case for himself. He scored a goal in Canada’s first game against Sweden, helping to push them to a 4-3 overtime victory. He’s playing on the third line with Brayden Point, from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Seth Jarvis, from the Carolina Hurricanes, both of whom assisted on his first period goal. He finished the game a plus-1 with two shots and 11:22 of ice time.
In the game against the United States, Marchand was on the third line once again, but this time, Sam Bennett, from the Florida Panthers, was the center. As many may remember, Marchand and Bennett had some serious beef during the 2024 postseason. But that’s the fun of tournaments like these, seeing guys uniting against another enemy, in this case, the US. Unfortunately, he did not play as well in the second game. He was only on the ice for 8:23, and had two shots, but no points.
Elias Lindholm, Team Sweden
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25774221/1143588609.jpg)
In his first game of the tournament, Lindholm faced off against Marchand and Team Canada. With the depth of Team Sweden and the struggles he’s had this season, he’s currently centering the fourth line with Gustav Nyquist, from the Nashville Predators, and Viktor Arvidsson, from the Edmonton Oilers. He had one shot attempt in Sweden’s loss and had 10:47 of ice time.
Sweden’s second game of the tournament was another overtime loss to Finland, who bounced back from their 6-1 loss to Team USA in their first game. Lindholm again had no points, and was a minus-1 with 10:39 of ice time.
It has obviously not been the greatest of tournaments for Team Sweden, and given his low minutes, Lindholm hasn’t had much of an impact.
International Tournaments Are Fun
It’s always fun to have an international hockey tournament. It’s a chance for fans to see players they may not always have opportunities to watch, and gives fun moments of seeing enemies become friends. It also presents chances for fans and players to let loose a bit and have some fun. One of the fun stories to come out so far is Marchand getting support from a Montreal audience after his goal for Team Canada against Sweden. Even more fun is the fans who still boo him, the Montreal and Boston rivalry going strong despite the international change-up.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is clearly helping get even more excitement brewing for the return of NHL players to the Olympics next year. These tournaments are an opportunity to see the best of the best face off against each other. With more teams participating in the Olympics, there will be even more chances to see Bruins players represent their countries on a major international stage.
