Players, coaches face quick turnaround ahead of 4 Nations Face-Off

Sidney Crosby knows the formula.

The Canadian hockey icon has suited up for his country at all levels throughout his decorated career. He usually ends up with a gold medal hanging from his neck, arms-wrapped-around-shoulders with teammates belting out the national anthem.

The 2005 world junior hockey championship. The 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. The 2015 world championship. The 2016 World Cup.

Crosby, of Cole Harbour, N.S., will be back at it soon, leading Canada into the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament next week with the 'C' stitched on his red jersey.

Unlike past international events, however, the runway is a lot shorter.

The NHL schedule pauses Sunday afternoon before teams — the United States, Sweden and Finland make up the remainder of the field — hit the ice for two or three practices ahead of the fast-approaching game action.

There won't be training camps to iron out forward lines and defensive pairings, power-play units and penalty kill combinations.

"You have to find a way to be at your best regardless of the situation," said Crosby, captain of both Canada and the Pittsburgh Penguins. "The teams that do that the best, that are able to adjust the best, are going to have the most success."

There isn't much time to figure it out. Rosters were announced in early December, but there hasn't been a ton of face-to-face interaction.

"This isn't a situation where you're going to get to roll out and say, 'Oh, we get this exhibition game here, we get to play these teams here to see what we have,'" said Canadian head coach Jon Cooper, whose day job is running the Tampa Bay Lightning's bench. "This is it — you've got shift, shift, shift, shift and let's see where we're at.

"We have to start somewhere… we're going to roll with it and see what happens."

U.S. captain Auston Matthews said building quick chemistry will be crucial. The 4 Nations, which won't include Russia because of the war in Ukraine, is the closest the NHL has come to a best-on-best tournament since the last World Cup.

And with the league's 2026 Olympic return just around the corner after missing the last two, getting on the same page will be important for this event and in a year's time.

"It's going to be highly competitive," said Matthews, the Toronto Maple Leafs captain. "Everybody's looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity.

"It's very exciting."

Canada opens the schedule in Montreal against Sweden on Feb. 12, while the U.S. faces Finland the next night. The countries play two games each in Montreal before the round-robin showcase moves to Boston. The final is set for Feb. 20.

"Tremendous tournament," Sweden and Tampa captain Victor Hedman said. "You look at the lineups throughout the four teams, it's just superstar after superstar. Guys are gonna play different roles than they're used to, but you buy into those roles.

"You do it quickly, you can have success."

There have been video meetings, but Cooper said fellow NHL coaches have been gracious in allowing Canadian players to speak with him throughout the fall and winter.

"A little unusual as an (opposing) coach meeting with a player on another team on game day," said the two-time Stanley Cup winner. "It shows you everybody's competitors, but this has a different feel.

"When it comes to putting on your flag, everybody takes a step aside, understands what is going on. It's been a pretty rewarding experience."

Crosby added that the all-hands-on-deck approach is something the players will carry into their brief preparations.

"You've just got to be open-minded," said the veteran centre with three Stanley Cup rings. "I'm sure every single guy on our team is willing to do whatever is asked and play any role in order to have success.

"But that's always part of the learning curve."

COACHING CROSBY

Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer is set to serve as one of Cooper's assistants and will reunite with Crosby after both helped Canada win gold at the 2005 world juniors.

"Youngest kid on our team," recalled DeBoer, an assistant on Brent Sutter's staff. "It was the NHL lockout year, maybe the best world junior team of all time. Just a great experience."

CREASE CLOUT

Canada and the U.S. are neck-and-neck with 4 Nations odds makers, but there's little doubt the Americans hold at least one significant advantage — in goal.

The netminding trio of Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets), Jake Oettinger (Dallas) and Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins) represent a formidable crease collective.

Hellebuyck, who's in the Hart Trophy conversation as NHL MVP after winning last season's Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender, leads the league in victories (33), shutouts (six), save percentage (.925) and goals-against average (2.04).

"Pretty incredible," Matthews said of the available talent. "It's nice to be on the other side now. We're pretty fortunate."