4 Nations Face-Off: Tournament to use NHL rules, except for overtime and standings points
Editor's note: Follow USA vs. Canada live updates from the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey final.
The NHL will hold its first best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey when the 4 Nations Face-Off begins on Wednesday.
NHL players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden will take part in the seven-game tournament, which runs from Feb. 12-20.
The first four games will be held at Montreal's Bell Centre. The final two round-robin games and the championship game will be at Boston's TD Garden.
The tournament is being run by the NHL and NHL Players' Association as an appetizer for the league's return to the Olympics at Milan and Cortina, Italy, in 2026.
Here is the format and schedule for the 4 Nations Face-Off:
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4 Nations Face-Off format
Each country will play one game against the other three nations during the round robin. The two teams with the best records will play each other in the championship game.
Games will be played under NHL rules, with exceptions of standings points and overtime.
- Teams will get three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss and zero points for a loss in regulation.
- Overtimes will involve 10 minutes of 3-on-3 sudden death in the round robin rather than the NHL's five minutes. If it's tied after 10 minutes, the game goes to a shootout.
- During the championship game, overtime is like NHL playoff overtime: 5-on-5 hockey for 20-minute periods until a goal is scored.
The NHL Player Safety department will rule on any supplementary discipline at the tournament. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he didn't foresee any discipline spilling over into the regular season, barring "extraordinary circumstances."
4 Nations Face-Off tiebreaker rule
A tie in the standings between two teams shall be decided by the head-to-head result between those teams.
4 Nations Face-Off schedule, TV
(Times p.m. ET)
- Wednesday, Feb. 12: Canada vs. Sweden at Montreal, 8, TNT
- Thursday, Feb. 13: USA vs. Finland at Montreal, 8, ESPN
- Saturday, Feb. 15: Finland vs. Sweden at Montreal, 1, ABC
- Saturday, Feb. 15: USA vs. Canada at Montreal, 8, ABC
- Monday, Feb. 17: Canada vs. Finland at Boston, 1, TNT
- Monday, Feb. 17: Sweden vs. USA at Boston, 8, TNT
- Thursday, Feb. 20: Championship game at Boston, 8, ESPN
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