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Ranking Canada, Finland, Sweden, USA: Which 4 Nations Face-Off team is the best?
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- Ranking Canada, Finland, Sweden, USA: Which 4 Nations Face-Off team is the best?
The 4 Nations Face-Off will be short. Each country will play three round-robin games. Two teams will go home. Two will play for the championship.
Establishing chemistry quickly will be key. So will goaltending. And defense wins championships, especially necessary with plenty of high-powered offense in the tournament.
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So, which country has the best chance of skating off as the winner of the NHL's first best-on-best showdown since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey?
USA TODAY Sports offers power rankings of the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden as they prepare to play in the seven-game tournament that runs Wednesday through Feb. 20 in Montreal and Boston .
1. Team USA
The Americans have the edge because of their goaltending. Connor Hellebuyck , who will start in the opener against Finland, is the favorite to win a third Vezina Trophy and second in a row. He leads with 34 wins and six shutouts and Jake Oettinger ranks second with 26 wins. Jeremy Swayman 's numbers are down this season, but he had a league-best .933 save percentage in last season's playoffs.
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The USA also trots out high-skilled forwards. Jack Eichel and Kyle Connor are on pace for 100 points, and Jack Hughes has 10 points in his last eight games. Auston Matthews won't match last year's 69 goals because of time missed with injuries but he's a threat to score and also is solid defensively. Matthew Tkachuk and brother Brady bring scoring and grit.
The defense took a hit with Quinn Hughes unavailable , but there's plenty of talent with Zach Werenski , Adam Fox , Charlie McAvoy and more.
2. Canada
Canada's strength is its offense. When you have Nathan MacKinnon on your second line, that says something. Connor McDavid , a five-time scoring champion and three-time MVP, is on the top line. The reported No. 1 power play unit of McDavid, MacKinnon, Sam Reinhart , Sidney Crosby and Cale Makar will be hard to stop. There's also feistiness with Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett , who's a big-time hitter.
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Canada also has built-in chemistry. Brayden Point , Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli are from the Lightning . Makar and Devon Toews are defensive partners on the Avalanche . Reinhart and Bennett are from the Panthers.
The only quibble is goaltending. Adin Hill , Jordan Binnington and Sam Montembeault have save percentages of .900 or below. But Hill and Binnington have won Stanley Cups, which might be the most important statistic. Binnington will get the start in Wednesday's opener against Sweden.
3. Sweden
Sweden has a solid foundation on defense with Victor Hedman , Rasmus Dahlin , Mattias Ekholm and others. Forwards William Nylander , Lucas Raymond , Adrian Kempe , Jesper Bratt and Rickard Rakell can bring offense. But forwards Mika Zibanejad , Filip Forsberg , Elias Pettersson and Elias Lindholm are having down seasons.
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Linus Ullmark is a former Vezina Trophy winner but is coming off an injury. Filip Gustavsson , who has been solid this season, will get the start in the opening game against Canada.
4. Finland
Finland doesn't have many defensemen in the NHL, and they lost a key one in injured Miro Heiskanen . Rasmus Ristolainen also had to withdraw and was replaced by Nikolas Matinpalo , who has played more than half the season in the American Hockey League.
Fortunately for Finland, it's known for its team defense, and Aleksander Barkov is a two-time Selke Trophy winner as the top defensive forward. Forward Sebastian Aho also plays a strong two-way game. Mikko Rantanen is the team's top scorer with 66 points, but he has only two points in six games since he was traded from the Avalanche to the Hurricanes. Patrik Laine is in an eight-game point drought. Finland will have chemistry, though, because four players are from the Panthers and three from the Stars.
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Juuse Saros is the biggest name among the Finnish goalies, but Kevin Lankinen has the best stats. He has a .905 save percentage while Saros and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are below .900. Saros will start Finland's opener Thursday against the United States.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 4 Nations Face-Off power rankings: Which team is the best?
