The first game of a high-stakes, three-game 4 Nations round-robin starts with Team Canada vs. Team Sweden tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal (8:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/TVA Sports).
Game Day Quotes
Mitch Marner on the opportunity to play with Connor McDavid after matching up against him so often as a kid:
It was hard to keep him to three points back in the day, realistically. It was always a lot of fun to play against him because you knew you were going to get the best player. It is not a surprise to see what he is doing now.
The first one was probably when I played for the Whitby Wildcats, and he was on York Simcoe. I don’t know how old we would’ve been there. I remember that we had a final against each other, and he got the upper hand in it. It was for the OMHA Championship or something. It was a tough one.
He has always had that speed and skill set. He has just continued to get better and better. It’s been [really] impressive.
Marner on the challenge against Team Sweden:
Every team in the tournament has a lot of skill and can make plays. It is about staying patient through the game, knowing that it is not going to be an easy one in any of the games. You are going to have to work for it. When you get opportunities, try not to miss.
Marner on the opportunity to seek revenge after a loss to Wiliam Nylander and Team Sweden in the World Championships back in 2017:
We have played against each other before in these kinds of events. It is always great to play against your teammates. There is always a bit of chirping going on. It is going to be a fun one.
With the Worlds, some guys can’t be there. That is why this tournament is really exciting. It is best-on-best. We have everyone here. That is what you are looking forward to.
Marner on the key to shutting down Nylander:
Try not to watch the puck. He likes to make people look silly. He is very, very skilled out there. He is smooth with the puck and makes a lot of things happen when it doesn’t look like something should be there.
Marner on the opportunity to play at the Bell Center as the home team:
It will be nice to be on their side for once. It will be nice to be cheered for rather than booed and yelled at.
William Nylander on who he is looking forward to playing with the most on Team Sweden:
There are obviously a bunch of incredible players, but I have seen Victor Hedman a lot through the years on the other side. It will be fun to play with him.
Nylander on his past experience playing against Mitch Marner at the World Championships:
Was that the time we won? Yeah, so it was obviously a lot of fun playing against him. We won that won, so hopefully we win again.
Nylander on whether there is a way to key in on Marner:
It is so hard to say he does one particular thing. He is very, very shifty and hard to read.
Nylander on whether he considered competing for Team Canada as a Calgary-born kid:
From when I was a kid, I always considered myself Swedish. When I realized I was good enough to compete for the junior national team, I wasn’t even thinking about playing for Canada or anything, although that was an option, too, if you look back at it at the time.
Nylander on the atmosphere he is anticipating in the Bell Centre tonight:
Probably something like a Leafs vs. Habs game here. Very amped up, and a lot of fun.
You are buzzing going into the game. Very exciting.
Nylander on the feeling of pulling on the Tre Kronor jersey:
It is similar to the feeling of putting on the Leafs jersey. What an honour to play for your country and for the Leafs. I am just proud to represent them, and you want to put your best foot forward.
Jon Cooper on the questions from the outside about Team Canada’s goaltending:
We get asked questions about forwards, defense, and goaltending. Everybody plays their positions. Ultimately, it is a team sport. That is it.
When a goal is scored, for the most part, it is usually not the goalie’s fault, but he always gets the rap because he is the last one who sees it. He is the one who has to dig it out of the net when it is in there.
Usually, there has been a progression of a blown backcheck, a missed hit, or some system breakdown all the way to the end. The goaltender, for 65 shot attempts and 30 shots at him a game, has to make the save.
I don’t get into [that]. I look at the guys and say, “Well, that guy has won a Cup, and that guy has won a Cup.” I look over somewhere else and say, “He hasn’t won a Cup, and he hasn’t won a Cup.” You put guys in big-time situations, and it is about how they perform.
On our team, we feel that we have a whole bunch of guys who have performed in pressure situations all the way through our lineup, but this is a team sport, man. You win and lose as a team.
I feel that we are sold in every single position. I sleep well at night, thinking that I have this team to stand behind the bench with. I am excited about it.
Cooper on the level of pace and competitiveness he anticipates in tonight’s matchup:
Hard to say. Because this is an entirely NHL event, all of the players know each other. Yesterday, it was a picture day, and teams were walking through the same hallways. Everybody is stopping each other and chatting. It is not an All-Star game feel, but everybody is talking to each other.
Behind closed doors, I don’t think that is what is going on. I expect it to be as competitive as any international tournament. The difference is that we are all together right now. Teams are sharing hotels, so you are running into different situations like that.
It is exactly how the bubble was. Everybody was together and having fun and conversing, but when those games started, it was a war. The only thing that was crazy was that there were no fans. After one period, you never noticed it anyway because of the competitiveness on the ice. I think this will be the same way.
Team Canada Projected Lines
Forwards
#13 Sam Reinhart — #97 Connor McDavid — #16 Mitch Marner
#87 Sidney Crosby — #29 Nathan MacKinnon — #61 Mark Stone
#63 Brad Marchand — #21 Brayden Point — #24 Seth Jarvis
#38 Brandon Hagel — #71 Anthony Cirelli — #11 Travis Konecny
Defensemen
#5 Devon Toews — #8 Cale Makar
#27 Shea Theodore — #89 Drew Doughty
#44 Josh Morrissey — #55 Colton Parayko
Goaltenders
Starter: #50 Jordan Binnington
#33 Adin Hill
Extras: Travis Sanheim, Sam Bennett, Sam Montembault
Team Sweden Projected Lines
Forwards
#9 Filip Forsberg — #40 Elias Pettersson — #10 Adrian Kempe
#67 Rickard Rakell — #93 Mika Zibanejad — #88 William Nylander
#63 Jesper Bratt — #20 Joel Eriksson Ek — #23 Lucas Raymond
#33 Viktor Arvidsson — #28 Elias Lindholm — #12 Gustav Nyquist
Defensemen
#77 Victor Hedman — #25 Jonas Brodin
#14 Mattias Ekholm — #65 Erik Karlsson
#42 Gustav Forsling — #26 Rasmus Dahlin
Goaltenders
Starter: #32 Filip Gustavsson
#35 Linus Ullmark
Extras: Leo Carlsson, Rasmus Andersson
