Friday Forecheck: Toil Before the Oil

While the entire hockey world was focused on the stellar 4 Nations Face-Off, NHL teams leaguewide have reconvened in recent days for practice sessions minus the players and coaches who took part in the tournament. The Flyers are no exception.

With Flyers head coach John Tortorella working for Team USA as an assistant to Pittsburgh's Mike Sullivan, Flyers associate coach Brad Shaw has been running Philly's practice sessions at Flyers Training Center in Voorhees along with Rocky Thompson.

Goaltender Samuel Ersson, who turned in a very strong performance for Team Sweden in the round-robin finale against Team USA, has rejoined his Flyers' teammates at practice. With games on Saturday afternoon against Edmonton and then a home-and-home set with Pittsburgh on Tuesday (Wells Fargo Center) and Thursday (PPG Paints Arena), Ersson could start each of the three remaining games on the Flyers' February calendar.

With Flyers players Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny joining 4 Nations champion Team Canada, the line and defense pairing combinations featured on the ice during the Flyers' practices in recent days will change come Saturday. The Flyers are hoping to get some players who entered the break nursing injuries back into the NHL lineup for Saturday.

Shaw indicated on Wednesday that he is not yet certain as to which players will be available for the Flyers when Connor McDavid, fresh off scoring the tournament-winning overtime goal against Team USA, visits Philadelphia with the rest of the defending Western Conference champion Oilers.

The outlook, however, seems promising for checking center Ryan Poehling to be ready to go come Saturday afternoon. Out since January 16 with an upper-body injury triggered by a high hit from the New York Islanders' Maxim Tsyplakov, Poehling is a full participant at practice. Others, such as Owen Tippett (upper body) have skated in a non-contact jersey.

There is also one new face who is now a full participant at practice: winger Jakob Pelletier. The energetic forward acquired from the Calgary Flames along with Andrei Kuzmenko in the deal that sent Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Flames now has his work visa issues sorted out and is expected to make his Flyers debut on Saturday.

4 Nations: A Battle Between Equals

Because of the historical significance -- and seismic impact on the sport -- of Team USA's "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, there's a natural tendency to compare any major international tournament involving the Americans to the events of 43 years ago in the Winter Games.

However, a more fitting and accurate comparison of the just-completed 4 Nations Tourney is two best-on-best tournaments pitting NHL pros against one another for their respective national teams: the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the 2010 Olympics.

In September 1996, Team USA -- featuring Flyers players John LeClair and Joel Otto along with Paul Holmgren as an assistant coach -- made a huge statement with their championship victory in the tournament. The statement: US Hockey can compete on equal footing with Canada when it's a pure best-versus-best tournament of the top American squad versus the top roster Canada can assemble.

I had the joy and pleasure of attending all three 1996 World Cup games that were held in Philly at the brand-new CoreStates Center (now Wells Fargo Center): a preliminary round game between Team USA and Canada, a semifinal double-OT clash between Canada and Sweden and Game 1 of the best-three-final between Canada and USA.

Since that time, I have been privileged to cover events ranging from the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 to the IIHF World Junior Championship as a credentialed media member. These were tremendous in their own right. Even so, when someone asks what is the best hockey I have seen in person, it is still the 1996 World Cup (which I attended as a fan, not as media).

I was nine years old, watching on television (on tape delay) when the Miracle on Ice unfolded in Team USA's unfathomable upset of the Soviet Union and gold medal comeback win after trailing Finland. I can testify firsthand that the crowd went bonkers -- strangers high-fiving and embracing in the concourse -- after LeClair forced overtime in Game 1 of the 1996 World Cup Final.

Ever since then, Team USA has emerged as a fully capable rival to Team Canada. The Americans may even be superior nowadays in best-on-best competitions at the Under-18 and Under-20 junior levels. The pros still favor Canada by a smidgeon, because the Canadians seem to be the ones celebrating at the end of events such the 2010 Olympics at the 4 Nations. However, it certainly isn't an upset by any means -- not even a mild upset -- if Team USA beats Canada in any given clash.

The two games between Team USA and Team Canada at 4 Nations was the best hockey I've seen -- intensity, drama, skill level on display, structure and pace -- in a long time. As an American, I was pulling for Team USA. But as someone who loves hockey above all, the real winner was the sport itself.

Thursday's instant classic championship game in Boston could not possibly have been a more perfect way to conclude the tournament.