How Sweden can beat Canada in 4 Nations Face-Off opener

After a near-season’s-worth of preparation, the 4 Nations Face-Off is set to begin on Wednesday night.

The first game of the in-season tournament will see Canada hosting Sweden inside the Bell Centre in Montreal. While everyone is focused on what the two North American teams will do in the event, a solid team like Sweden is looking to silence many pundits with a strong performance in the opening game.

Many have been foaming at the mouth watching Canada practice, especially with Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon on the same power play. However, Sweden has some firepower itself. With players like William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad and Elias Pettersson, Tre Kronor has the assets to put the puck in the net.

On top of that, they have a strong blue line headlined by captain Victor Hedman, along with players such as Mattias Ekholm, Joans Brodin and Gustav Forsling. There is zero reason the Swedes should be taken lightly in this tournament.

On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed what Sweden will have to do to steal a win over Canada.

Frank Seravalli: Theoretically, it feels like Canada should have the puck all game. What this such a juicy matchup is Sweden’s defense might be the biggest and best in the tournament. The name of the game is going to be getting kills. If you’re Victor Hedman or Mattias Ekholm, or pick one of the big Swedish defensemen with a big, bushy beard, that’s going to be the way you’re going to get to Canada. Create turnovers and get the puck up to your forwards and moving in the other direction to create shots. Get out your own end. That’s going to be the key. If you’re looking for a path to victory for Sweden, it’s can Sweden’s defense knuckle down against Canada, because they’re going to be pinned in for stretches.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Quick-strike offense…I don’t know how many second or third opportunities you’re going to get in the offensive zone if you’re Team Sweden. They got to be very opportunistic. We talked about Lucas Raymond, a lot about Adrian Kempe…guys who can score off the rush. I think those guys are going to be absolutely massive tonight for Sweden.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…