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There's only one goal for Drew Doughty and Team Canada at the highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off that begins at the Bell Centre on Wednesday night: winning the whole thing.
“Obviously, as Canadians, the players feel the same way as the fans. We expect to win, and we’re not going to be satisfied with anything but a championship,” Doughty said on the verge of the tournament, per NHL.com's Nicholas J. Cotsonika. “I think a lot of the guys in here, we feel that pressure, obviously. But that’s what we thrive under. That’s why [we’re] all superstars in this league, is because we thrive under that pressure, and it doesn’t affect our game.”
“Definitely feel a lot of pressure,” echoed star forward Nathan MacKinnon, per Cotsonika. “Absolutely. I think pressure is a privilege, and I’m glad there’s pressure. It means people expect a lot of us. We’re maybe inspiration to some young kids around the country. If I was 10 years old right now, I’d be tuned in to this tournament. So, definitely excited.”
Team Canada has dominated over the years in best-on-best competition, winning nine of 13 events going back to the 1976 Canada Cup- including four of the past five entering the 4 Nations.
Team Canada has dominated in best-on-best competition
“The first tournament like this was Canada’s. It was literally called the Canada Cup. The five events from 1976 to 1991 were played predominantly in Canada. Canada won four of the five,” wrote Cotsonika on Monday.
“The World Cup of Hockey was played three times from 1996-2016. Canada won two of the three tournaments. NHL players went to the Olympics five times from 1998 to 2014. Canada won three of the five gold medals. Add it up, and Canada has won nine of the 13 best-on-best tournaments, including four of the past five and each of the past three.”
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Clearly, Canada remains the world's preeminent hockey entity heading into the 4 Nations, although the United States, Sweden, and Finland will all be vying for gold at the event.
USA won the World Cup of Hockey in 1996, while Sweden captured 2006 Olympic Gold. Finland has never won in a best-on-best tournament, and on paper, they probably have the weakest roster at the 4 Nations.
The same can't be said for Canada, who will be rolling out a top powerplay unit of MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Sam Reinhart, and Cale Makar.
“That’s quite the unit right there,” defenseman Colton Parayko said. “A lot of speed, a lot of skill, a lot of hockey knowledge, a lot of everything, so great unit, and looking forward to watching them as the tournament goes on and build as a group and just dominate.”
Team Canada will kick off the tournament against Sweden on Wednesday at the Bell Centre. They'll take on the United States on Saturday night before the event shifts to TD Garden in Boston. Canada will play its final final round robin game against Finland next Monday in Beantown.
The 4 Nations championship game, reserved for the top two teams after the round robin, is set for Thursday, February 20.
