This is NBA All-Star weekend. This year, the league implemented a new format, with the All-Star being drafted into three teams of eight players. They will face off against the winner of the Friday night Rising Stars Challenge in a small single elimination tournament on Sunday night.
The NHL is trying out something new that was kicked off this week.
Instead of the All-Star Game, the NHL and NHLPA are holding four-country showdowns, which will be held from February 12th to February 20th. This is a round robin tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and four national teams. USA – NHL players fill out the roster.
Here's what you need to know for the NHL four nation showdowns, how to watch, and scores:
Why did the NHL implement a four-country showdown?
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the round robin tournament at the 2024 All-Star Game. The move comes after lengthy negotiations between the league and the NHLPA regarding players' participation in international tournaments. NHL players competed at the Winter Olympics between 1998 and 2014. Still, there were no deals to allow players to play at either the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics or the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
As part of the contract, players will be able to compete at the 2026 Italian Winter Olympics and the 2030 Winter Olympics.
“The international composition of the National Hockey League roster is unparalleled, and NHL players take great pride in representing their country,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman It was stated in a statement last year.
“After intense collaboration between the NHL Players Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation, we are pleased to formally announce that NHL players will participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Hockey Tournaments.”
Additionally, the league introduced a Season 4 Nations showdown, which will be held in place of the 2025 NHL All-Star Game. Between that tournament and next winter game, the NHL All-Star Game will be a year off. The 2026 NHL All-Star Game will be held at UBS Arena in New York, home to New York Islanders. Betman I said it last year The 2026 edition of the All-Star Game will be “stop off to the Olympics,” and will be taking part in the winter game from the All-Star Game in New York to Italy.
Announcement of the four-country showdown, Bettman showed that international competition is extremely important for the league players.
“We know the importance of international competition for players. We know that they love and want to represent the country they came from.” Last year, Bettman said. “I think this is the best sport and the best stage.”
Which teams are in the four-country showdown?
All four teams selected to participate in the first four nations' showdown were ranked in the top six by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the global governing body of the sport, at the time the tournament was announced. I did.
However, there are controversies related to the choice of these four teams.
Canada, Finland and the US were all ranked in the top four, with Canada at the top of the rankings, Finland at 2nd and the US at 4th.
Are you sitting third? Russia was there Competition in international tournaments has been banned By IIHF for the Ukrainian state invasion. Germany, ranked 5th, was also excluded from participating because the country does not have one. Adequate NHL players To fill the national list.
Sweden, the sixth place team, won the spot.
What is the format for the tournament?
The 4 Nations faceoff is a round robin tournament, with each team playing three other teams once.
The 4 Nations showdown points system includes three points for victory in regulations, two points for victory in overtime or shootout, one point in overtime or shootout, and zero point loss in overtime or shootout. .
Following the end of round robin play, the top two teams will meet at the championship game scheduled for February 20th.
In the round-robin portion of the tournament, overtime is a 10-minute period of 3-3 sudden death. If the score remains tied at the end of this sudden death of 10 minutes, the game advances to a shootout.
In the championship game, the overtime format is a sudden death of 20 minutes, full intensity. These will be a period of sudden death of 20 minutes, so if the game remains tied after the first, it will proceed to the second and third, but there will be many games to determine the winner .
As for tiebreakers, the tiebreaker between two teams is determined by direct results.
Three-way tie is determined in several steps. You can read it here.
Where is the game played?
The round-robin portion of the tournament will feature games at two sites: Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada and TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Who should you know?
Canada
Canada is led by Conor McDavid, Nathan McKinnon, Sam Reinhart, Braden Point and Kale McCar. Sidney Crosby was chosen as team captain, but given the depth Canada brings to the table, ice time may be limited.
Still, he had a trio of assists in his first match against Canada's Sweden.
Here is the biggest question that Canada poses between the pipes. Jordan Binnington scored a Canadian start against Sweden, but allowed three goals, including two in the third term where the Swedish army worked overtime.
Finland
Finland has two Serketrophes given to the NHL's best defensive forwards, and Alexander Barkov, who was given to Sebastian Aho, Mikko Lantanen and Loop Hintz. There are many two-way players.
But Finland doesn't have the outstanding defender Milo Heskanen. Milo Heskanen had knee surgery at the beginning of the month and is considered “month” for a return to action.
Sweden
The Swedes may have the best group of defenders in the tournament. Players like Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin, Gustav Farsling, Mattis Ekhold and Jonas Brodin give Sweden an incredible amount of talent and depth along the blue line.
If they get enough from their front, led by William Nylander and Philip Forberg, Sweden could be a problem. Here's an example of what you can do in this tournament the other day, forcing overtime with Canada.
US
It's their depth that stands out for the US, as this roster could be the strongest top-to-bottom strongest in the tournament. Among the likes of Tkachuk Brothers (Brady and Matthew), Jack Eichel, Matt Boldy, Jake Guentzel, JT Miller, the United States has talent ahead of time. Along the Blue Line, Jake Sullivan is a Noristotrophy winner at Adam Fox, a noristotrophy candidate for Charlie McAvoy, Zach Welensky, Jacobslavin, and other incredible options such as Block Faber, Noah Hanifin, Jake Sanderson has been acquired.
This talent was fully on display to open the tournament on the team's Finland 6-1 route.
Game schedule and how to view
Here's the scores for each game and how you can watch upcoming contests:
Saturday night showdown between the US and Canada at Bell Centre in Montreal should definitely bring an electric vibe.
Wednesday, February 12th: Canada 4, Sweden 3 (OT)
Thursday, February 13th: US 6, Finland 1
Saturday, February 15th: Finland vs Sweden, 1pm ABC/ESPN+
Saturday, February 15th: USA vs Canada, 8pm ET, ABC/ESPN+/Disney+
Monday, February 17th: Canada vs. Finland, 1pm ET, TNT
Monday, February 17th: Sweden vs. America, 8pm ET, TNT
Thursday, February 20th: Championship Game, 8pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
What is the ranking of the four countries' showdowns?
The rankings for Friday, February 14th are as follows:
The four countries' confrontation ranking
| team | w | Overtime victory | Overtime loss | loss | point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| team | w | Overtime victory | Overtime loss | loss | point |
| united states of america | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Canada | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
