4 Nations Face-Off, Round 1: Thoughts?

2 months ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

No peace. | Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images


Also: Brock Nelson discusses the ins, the outs, the what-have-yous of his free agency status. Well, what do you think? The first round* of the 4 Nations Face-Off is complete, with Canada beating Sweden in overtime (really? they’re doing 3-on-3?) in an apparently thrilling, high-paced game that I didn’t see.
*I know it’s not really “a round” in the “advance past X round” sense, but in a round-robin setup where teams face each opponent only once, it’s helpful to describe them this way. Finland could theoretically be eliminated after Saturday’s “second round,” fore example.
The next night, Team Tkachuk, or rather Team USA took it to Finland in the third period of what became a blowout. Finland kept it close till the third, but the many U.S. weapons always looked like they were ready to erupt.
Brock Nelson actually hit the crossbar for the first great U.S. chance, but our Islanders representative in this tournament is a secondary player to the top six the U.S. happily runs out there. Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes and the Tkachuks all looked like they were having way too much fun.
Some intense and potentially pivotal games in this short tourney will come Saturday, with a double-header of bitter rivalries, USA vs. Canada and Sweden vs. Finland.
Are you entertained?


Really glad to hear Ray Ferarro call Niko Mikkola "Mikko Mäkelä" because I do that all the time. #Isles— Lighthouse Hockey (@lhhockey.bsky.social) 2025-02-14T03:25:19.097Z



Another fun one from Ferarro, regarding Drew Doughty calling the first game “the fastest he’s ever played”:
“Yes it was a track meet, but Drew has also played only eight games this season, he’s 35, and they played with five defensmen. So I think he was just feeling that.”
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