The first two games of the 4 Nations Face-Off are in the books. The presence of the Tampa Bay Lightning was seen in both games thus far for the three teams with Lightning reps. All but one member of the team has celebrated a win so far.
Let’s break down how each member of the Lightning representing their countries has faired in the early part of this tournament.
Victor Hedman, Sweden
The captain of Team Sweden assisted on the first goal scored by his team in the tournament. Victor Hedman passed it from near the blue line over to Jonas Brodin at the right circle. Brodin fired it past Jordan Binnington to get Sweden on the board. His assist was his lone point of the game.
This effort wouldn’t be enough. Sweden came back to tie the game 3-3, but Team Canada won in overtime, 4-3.
He was on the ice for 27:15. He took a single shot in the game and blocked three shots. His 30 shifts were the most of anybody on Team Sweden.
Brayden Point, Team Canada
The thought of this scenario, even for this tournament, likely made Lightning fans queasy. Brayden Point was on the ice wearing the same jersey as Boston Bruins star forward Brad Marchand and Point assisted his goal that gave Team Canada a 2-0 lead over Team Sweden. Point also blocked a shot and lost the puck on a giveaway.
The surprising statistic is that he didn’t register a single shot in the game. In 50 games with the Lightning this season, he only had five games in which he didn’t take a shot. He’s taken at least two in 38 of those games.
It’s a reminder that when you’re on the third line because you’re on an all-star team, you’re going to have a different role than when you’re on the top line of the Lightning. He’ll likely score a couple goals by the time this tournament is over, but we might have to change our expectations a bit.
Brandon Hagel, Team Canada
Brandon Hagel did not find the scoresheet in the opening game for Team Canada. He took a single shot and blocked another. He did provide some muscle for Canada, with a team-best five hits in the game.
It was reminiscent of his role with the Lightning in the run to the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. He didn’t find the scoresheet often, but he was out there racking up hits and blocking shots.
Anthony Cirelli, Team Canada
Like Hagel, Anthony Cirelli hasn’t gotten on the scoresheet in the lone game played thus far. He had one shot in almost 12 and a half minutes of ice time.
Even if he doesn’t produce much offensively, he’ll do his part defensively. It’s a similar situation to Hagel, whom he’s playing with on the same line. That was his role for both of the Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cups. So far, he’s blocked a shot and had two hits.
Jake Guentzel, Team USA
The lone Lightning rep on Team USA had the strongest offensive performance of any Tampa Bay teammates thus far. He picked up a goal and an assist for two points in the 6-1 beat down of Finland.
Despite the multi-point game, it wasn’t good enough to earn him one of the three stars. Matthew Tkachuk’s three-point night was the obvious first-star selection, but he lost out to Brady Tkachuk and Matt Boldy. Both also had two points. When you look at when each player got on the scoresheet, you can pinpoint the tiebreakers for a place among the three stars. Tkachuk tied the game and Boldy gave Team USA the lead.
If Guentzel keeps playing to the level he did to start the tournament, he’ll garner some recognition in time.
Up Next
Hedman won’t have to face any of his teammates in Sweden’s upcoming matchup with Finland on Saturday. Puck drop is at 1 p.m. EST in Montreal. Four Lightning players will be featured in the upcoming game between Team USA and Team Canada. That game will also be played in Montreal with an 8 p.m. EST puck drop.
