Marner, Nylander put friendship on hold as Canada and Sweden open 4 Nations Face-Off

Team Canada, Team USA, and Team Sweden practised at the Bell Centre on Tuesday ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off. 

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The last time Mitch Marner and William Nylander faced off, it ended in heartbreak for Team Canada.

Marner's final shootout attempt in the gold-medal game at the 2017 World Championship was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist, who was bowled over by an exuberant Nylander in the Swedish celebration that followed. 

"Thanks for bringing that up," Marner said with a grin and a grimace when asked about the previous showdown with his Toronto Maple Leafs teammate. 

Nylander's memory wasn't quite as clear. 

"Was that the time we won?" asked Nylander, who was named the tournament MVP. "Yeah, so, it was obviously a lot of fun playing against him. We won that one, so hopefully we win again." 

Nylander believes the gold medal is hanging somewhere in his apartment back home in Stockholm.

Is Marner looking for a bit of payback on Wednesday when Canada takes on Sweden in the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off?

"Maybe," the 27-year-old winger said. "The Worlds are a little different. Some guys can't be there, obviously. That's why this tournament is really exciting. It's best on best."

Just like in 2017 in Cologne, Germany, Marner and Nylander will be playing in prominent roles in Montreal this week.

Marner, who leads the Leafs with 71 points, is slotting in beside Connor McDavid and Sam Reinhart on Canada's top line. Nylander can't pinpoint just one area for his new Swedish teammates to focus on when it comes to slowing down Marner. 

"It's just so hard to say that he does one in particular thing all the time," Nylander noted. "He's very, very shifty and hard to read."

Nylander, who leads the Leafs with 33 goals, will start on Sweden's second line with Mika Zibanejad and Rickard Rakell. Marner's advice to teammates when it comes to stopping Nylander?

"Try not to watch the puck," Marner warned. "He likes to make people look silly. He's very, very skilled out there. Easy, smooth with the puck, and makes a lot of things happen where it doesn't look like something should be there."

This is a big moment and one Marner and Nylander have waited years to experience. The atmosphere will be electric.

"It will be nice to be on their side for once," Marner said of the Bell Centre crowd. "It will be nicer to be cheered for than booed and yelled at.”

Nylander is expecting a similar sensation to when the Leafs play here.

"You're buzzing going into the game," Nylander said. 

Considering the anticipation for the return of best-on-best hockey, the energy could even go up a notch from an NHL game. 

"If it goes up a notch from that Saturday Montreal-Toronto game we had here [on Jan. 18], it's going to be bananas," Marner said. "This crowd's always great. It's always a pretty crazy game when we come here with the atmosphere."

The moment also brings a lot of pressure.

"I just look at this as a super fun opportunity," said Nylander, who will have father Michael Nylander, a former NHL player, on hand to support him. "I'm playing against the best players in the world on Team Canada, like, obviously you're feeling some kind of excited, a little nervous, of course, I mean that's just natural, but that's how it is. I like feeling like that. It's good."

Marner's wife and parents are flying in and will be in attendance on Wednesday night. 

"It's just about enjoying the moment," Marner said, "staying in the moment and being ready when your name's called."

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Don't be surprised if Marner and Nylander share a few words on the ice on Wednesday. 

"It's always great to play against your teammates," Marner said. "There's always a little bit of chirping going on. It's always going to be a fun one."

For many NHL teammates, the chirping has already started.

Sweden captain Victor Hedman reached out to his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, and Brayden Point after Canada's first practice.

"We texted a little bit," Hedman said with a smile. "I wondered why they weren't on the first power-play unit."

That's a fun line.

There have been no similar quips shared between the trio of Leafs here, though. In fact, there hasn't been any communication at all between Marner, Nylander and Team USA captain Auston Matthews.

"We flew in together," said Marner. "We said, 'Goodbye.' We said, 'Good luck. We'll see you at the end of it.'"

"Of course we're buddies," Nylander said. "It's just you got a full gig going with your Swedish buddies and hanging out with them. So, I mean, we're with each other every day for most of the year, but for now it's focusing on the team that we're with."

There's not a lot of time to build chemistry at this event, so all the focus and energy is on the national team right now. 

"You're just trying to get to know everyone on your own team and try to get accommodated with them," Marner said. 

"You're pretty focused on the team and the guys in your room right now," Matthews said. "You can be friends after the tournament." 

Marner is grateful that he got a chance to skate with some of the top Canadian players during the summer, which allowed him to arrive with some pre-existing chemistry. 

"Just trying to be myself," he said. "I knew a couple guys that I worked out with. Just trying to get accommodated and trying just to be yourself. A lot of people know me, I'm loud and crazy, so just trying to stick to that and enjoying it and having laughs."

Marner will face Matthews on Saturday in the final game in Montreal before the event shifts to Boston. Matthews and Nylander will share the ice next Monday in the final round-robin game at TD Garden. 

"It will be a little bit weird playing against guys, teammates, close friends of mine that I've playing with the last nine years," Matthews said. "It will be interesting but, in the end, I think we're all competitive. Everyone wants to win."

But will Matthews hesitate at all to lay a hit on Marner or Nylander should the situation call for it? 

"I don't think so," the 27-year-old centre said. "I think we all understand we're not on the same team right now. We're competitive, there's a lot of pride playing for your country, so it doesn't really matter who you're going up against, you got to compete and try to outwork the other guy and physicality is a part of the game."

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Earlier this season, Matthews praised Nylander for his ability to generate breakaways. So, how can Team USA stop Nylander from getting loose?

"I mean nobody has been successful this year," Matthews said with a grin. "I'll definitely let the guys know, if the puck turns over you'll know where to find him."

Nylander's breakaway ability has developed over time. He may be leaning for offence, but he's not necessarily cheating for offence. At least not anymore. 

"Somehow he reads and sniffs out those breakaways and sometimes that can be good, but sometimes you can also lose a guy in the defensive zone," said Swedish defenceman Mattias Ekholm. "I think he's getting better at that. I don't watch Toronto every day but what I see is his evaluation of the situation has become more solid and you see it in the numbers."

Nylander is second in the Rocket Richard Trophy race behind only German Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who has 40 goals, but is not at the 4 Nations event. 

Ekholm played with Nylander during that 2019 World Championship.  

"It was years ago, so he's grown a lot," Ekholm noted. "I think he's maturing in a great way and becoming a leader."

"We haven't even played a game yet, but you can tell he's vocal," said Hedman. "He talks to everyone. Just a tremendous guy and he deserves to wear a letter."

Nylander will serve as an alternate captain on Team Sweden. It's a sign the team wants and needs him to lead the way.

"He's a difference maker," said Hedman. "He's one of those guys who can win a game by himself. Willy's a game changer for us. It's been fun to see him here in practice for two days and what he can do with the puck and the way he communicates." 

Nylander doesn't wear a letter with the Leafs, but has grown into a supporting leadership role with Toronto over the years. 

"I am the way that I am," Nylander said, "and try to lead on the ice and talk a little bit in the locker room and just be myself." 

"He doesn't get enough credit for it," Ekholm said of Nylander's leadership. "He's a player that he leads by example. He plays hard out there. He scores a lot of big goals. He wants to be the guy on our team and in Toronto as well."

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Marner played against McDavid while growing up in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. 

"What he is now is what he was before too," Marner said. "It was hard to keep him to three points back in the day, realistically. And it was always a lot of fun to play against him because you knew what you were getting. You knew you were getting the best player and I wasn't surprised to see what he's doing now."

Marner still remembers clearly what it was like to face McDavid in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association when the future first-overall pick played for the York Simcoe Express.

"We had a finals against each other and he got the better of it," said Marner, who played for the Whitby Wildcats. "It was a tough one. He's always had that speed. He's always had that skillset. He's just gotten better and better with it." 

Marner won't have to worry about defending McDavid for at least a couple weeks. That's now a problem for Ekholm and Team Sweden. Does the Oilers blueliner have a better idea how to slow down No. 97 because he practises against him in Edmonton?

"No, not really," Ekholm admits. "He's so good at taking what you give him so there's no real script of how do you play defence against him. He's so good, so dynamic, so explosive, you just have to make sure you're on your toes and try not got get into foot races with him. That's usually not going to end well."

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U.S. general manager Bill Guerin invited Guy Gaudreau, the father of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Gaudreau, to the team's dinner on Monday night. The brothers died on Aug. 29, 2024 when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver. Johnny was 31 years old. Matthew was 29.

Guy Gaudreau joined the group on the ice at Tuesday's practice and was part of the team picture. 

"I thought it was important that he was there," Guerin said. "Johnny and Matthew were a big part of USA Hockey and a tremendous loss. They're with us in spirit. I just think it was important that Guy was there. The coaches wanted him out for practice, and the players wanted him in the picture. He's an amazing guy. We love having him around."

Johnny's No. 13 national team sweater will hang in the American dressing room throughout the event. The team has special decals on their helmets honouring the brothers. 

"It means a lot," said Matthews. "The tragedy that happened just a couple months ago still weighs heavy on all of us. It's nice to have him here. We have Johnny's jersey hanging in the room and making sure he's here with us in spirit."

Matthews played with Johnny Gaudreau on Team North America at the 2016 World Cup in Toronto, which was the last best-on-best event.  

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Lines at Canada practice: 

Reinhart - McDavid - Marner
Crosby - MacKinnon - Stone
Marchand - Point - Jarvis
Hagel - Cirelli - Konecny/Bennett
Toews - Makar
Theodore - Doughty 
Morrissey - Parayko
Sanheim
Binnington
Hill
Montembeault

Lines at Sweden practice:

Forsberg - Pettersson - Kempe
Rakell - Zibanejad - Nylander 
Bratt - Eriksson Ek - Raymond 
Arvidsson - Lindholm - Nyquist
L. Carlsson

Hedman - Brodin
Dahlin - Forsling 
Ekholm - Karlsson 
Andersson

Gustavsson, Ullmark, Ersson 

Lines at USA practice: 

Connor - Eichel - M. Tkachuk 
Guentzel - Matthews - Hughes
B. Tkachuk - Miller- Boldy
Nelson - Trocheck - Larkin
Kreider

Slavin - Fox
Werenski - McAvoy
Hanifin - Faber 
Sanderson

Hellebuyck, Oettinger, Swayman

Power-play units at USA practice: 

QB: Fox 
Flanks: Matthews, Eichel
Middle: Hughes 
Net front: M. Tkachuk

QB: Werenski
Flanks: Connor, Boldy
Middle: Guentzel
Net front: B. Tkachuk