Canada separates McDavid and Crosby in first-look 4 Nations Face-Off lines
Team Canada gave a first glimpse at what their lines will look like for the 4 Nations Face-Off today at their opening practice.
With so much star power available, especially among the forwards, there were nearly endless possible combinations for head coach Jon Cooper.
The presence of Sidney Crosby, who was potentially going to pull out with an injury, made things even harder for Cooper, although he surely welcomes the captain being healthy and a lineup option.
While many fans were clamouring to see Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid on the same line, Cooper split them up. The lines at practice today looked as follows:
MacKinnon – Crosby – Stone
Reinhart – McDavid – Marner
Marchand – Point – Jarvis
Hagel – Bennett – Cirelli
Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny didn’t skate today as he’s out with an illness.
McDavid, the consensus best player in the world, gets to play with winger Sam Reinhart, who is tied for third in the NHL in goals with 31. Mitch Marner, who is tied for fourth in the league in points, is on his other wing.
The defence is just as stacked as the forward group. They lined up as follows at practice this morning.
Toews – Makar
Morrissey – Parakyo
Theodore – Doughty
Sanheim
The top pair of Devon Toews and Cale Makar has been one of the NHL’s best for the past few seasons. They helped lead the Colorado Avalanche to the 2022 Stanley Cup and complement each other well.
Veteran Drew Doughty was named to the team as an injury replacement for Alex Pietrangelo. Although Doughty has played just six games this season, he has two gold medals with Team Canada under his belt from the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington, and Sam Montembeault were all on the ice as goalies.
The team also showed off their special teams units, which, as expected, are littered with big names who are some of the best in the world at these roles.
The first power-play unit was as follows:
Crosby
McDavid – Reinhart – MacKinnon
Makar
The second unit is nearly as dangerous.
Stone
Point – Marner – Theodore
Morrissey
Canada will play their first game on Wednesday against Sweden at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET. A huge Saturday night matchup against rival Team USA looms after that.