The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off: A Comprehensive Guide

What is the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, and how did it come to be?

At the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, announced an international tournament.

The NHL considers the 4 Nations event as a stepping stone towards a bigger World Cup.

In addition to competing in the 2026 Olympics, players will also participate in a World Cup in 2028, return to the Olympics in 2030, and then have another World Cup two years later to establish an international play cycle.

The 4 Nations Face-Off is being viewed as a "precursor" to a busy international hockey schedule in the near future.

Since 2016, NHL players have not participated in a best-on-best international tournament, except for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which featured eight teams.

This season, there will be no All-Star Game due to the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Here is what you need to know about the upcoming tournament.

What is the tournament’s format?

Each team will play three games in the round-robin tournament format.

For each regulation win, the winning team will receive three points. For each overtime or shootout win, the team will receive two points.

For each overtime or shootout loss, the team will not receive a point. For a regulation loss, the team will receive one point.

The sudden death period for overtime is 10 minutes and involves three players. If the game ends in a tie during overtime, a three-round shootout will determine the winner.

The top two teams will play in a winner-take-all final.

In the championship game, if overtime is required, it will be traditional 5-on-5 hockey with consecutive 20-minute periods, similar to how overtime is played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Where and when are the games being played?

The Bell Centre in Montreal and the TD Garden in Boston will host the tournament games, which will take place in North America.

The games start on February 10 and 11, after two practice days.

At the Bell Centre, four games are being played, while three games are happening at the TD Garden.

Here are the games being played at the Bell Centre:

• Wednesday, Feb. 12: Canada vs. Sweden at 8 p.m. ET.
• Thursday, Feb.13: USA vs. Finland at 8 p.m. ET.

On Saturday, February 15th, the Bell Centre hosts a doubleheader. First, Finland faces Sweden at 1 p.m. ET, followed by Sweden's game against the United States at 8 p.m. ET.

On Monday, Feb. 17, the TD Garden will host a doubleheader featuring Canada vs Finland at 1 p.m. ET and Sweden vs the United States at 8 p.m. ET.

The championship game will take place on Thursday, February 20th at 8 p.m. ET.

Who is on the roster?

Each roster will consist of 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies.

Team Canada

Forwards (listed alphabetically by last name):

The NHL has announced its All-Star Game rosters, featuring players from various teams such as the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and more.

Defensemen:

The defensemen of the NHL include Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets, Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues, Alex Pietrangelo of the Vegas Golden Knights, Travis Sanheim of the Philadelphia Flyers, Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights, and Devon Toews of the Colorado Avalanche.

Goalies:

The goaltenders of the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, and Montreal Canadiens are Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault, respectively.

Team USA

Forwards:

The following players are among the best in the National Hockey League: Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, Chris Kreider, New York Rangers, Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks, Brock Nelson, New York Islanders, Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, and Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers.

Defensemen:

The Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, and Columbus Blue Jackets all have talented defensemen.

Goalies:

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg JetsJake Oettinger, Dallas StarsJeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

Team Finland

Forwards:

The NHL has announced the rosters for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, with Sebastian Aho representing the Carolina Hurricanes, Joel Armia representing the Montreal Canadiens, and Aleksander Barkov representing the Florida Panthers.

Defensemen: Toronto Maple Leafs - Jani Hakanpaa, Dallas Stars - Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars - Olli Maatta, Utah Hockey Club - Niko Mikkola, Florida Panthers - Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia Flyers - Juuso Valimaki, Utah Hockey Club.

Goalies: Vancouver Canucks - Kevin Lankinen, Buffalo Sabres - Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Nashville Predators - Juuse Saros.

Team Sweden

The following players are on the roster of their respective NHL teams: Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers; Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils; Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks; Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild; Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators; William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights; Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings; Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins; William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs; Gustav Nyquist, Nashville Predators; Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks; Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings; Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers.

Defensemen: Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins.

Goalies: Minnesota Wild - Filip Gustavsson, New Jersey Devils - Jacob Markstrom, Ottawa Senators - Linus Ullmark.

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