How Devils at the 4 Nations Face-Off Can Be Eliminated

One thing is for sure. At least one New Jersey Devils player is playing for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship gold.

Team USA punched their ticket to the 4 Nations Face-Off final this weekend, routing Team Canada to a 3-1 victory on the back’s of the Tkachuk brothers.

Jack Hughes has remained on a line with Auston Matthews and Jake Guentzel, although it has just one assist through two games.

Still, the Devils’ superstar has been quite strong, helping his line create scoring chances at 5-on-5. However, in a recent development in Hughes’ game, he’s also been quite strong defensively. Thus, USA awaits their opponent on Thursday.

Still, USA has to play on Monday, a President’s Day tilt against Team Sweden. Therefore, Team Finland will play Team Canada. All but the USA face the possibility of being eliminated.

Here’s how the standing look:

Current Standings:

• United States: 2 wins, 0 losses (6 points)
• Canada: 1 win, 1 loss (2 points)
• Finland: 1 win, 1 loss (2 points)
• Sweden: 0 wins, 2 losses (0 points)

Jesper Bratt (Sweden) and Erik Haula (Finland) are the two Devils that face the possibility of being sent home packing.

Here’s how:

Elimination Scenarios for Sweden and Finland:

• Sweden:
  • Eliminated if: Sweden loses to the United States in regulation. This outcome would leave Sweden with 0 points, making it impossible for them to advance to the final.
• Finland:
  • Eliminated if: Finland loses to Canada in regulation. This result would leave Finland with 2 points, and since Sweden would have 0 points, Finland would be eliminated due to the head-to-head tiebreaker with Sweden.

In other words, Sweden can be eliminated by losing to the United States in regulation, while Finland can be eliminated by losing to Canada in regulation, especially if Sweden has already been eliminated.

If Canada is to be eliminated, here’s what need to happen:

Elimination Scenarios for Canada

• Eliminated if: If Canada loses to Finland in regulation on Monday, February 17, 2025, they would be out of contention for the final.
• Losing in Overtime or Shootout to Finland Combined with a Specific Result for USA-Sweden: If Canada loses to Finland in overtime or a shootout, and Sweden wins in regulation against the United States, Canada would also be eliminated. This is because the points system awards 3 points for a regulation win, 2 for an overtime or shootout win, 1 for an overtime or shootout loss, and 0 for a regulation loss. In this scenario, Canada would finish with fewer points than the USA, who has already clinched a spot with a win over Canada, and Sweden, who would get 3 points from a regulation win.

If one or both of Sweden and Finland are eliminated, both Bratt and Haula are eligible to return to the Devils, who resume practice at 2 P.M. on Tuesday. Perhaps, they will receive an extra day for travel and get to Newark for practice on Wednesday.

Canada and Finland face-off at 1 P.M. on Monday, while the U.S. and Sweden play at 8 P.M.

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