U.S. team’s depth means players must make ‘sacrifices’ at 4 Nations Face-Off

MONTREAL -- When the United States practiced the power play at Bell Centre on Tuesday, Dylan Larkin skated out.

On the penalty kill.

Larkin ranks third in the NHL in power-play goals this season with 12 for the Detroit Red Wings. The center is one of the best bumpers in the League, using his quick head and hands in the middle of the ice.

But this is the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. Each team is stacked with talent, the coaches must make hard decisions, and some stars must swallow their egos.

Larkin is just one example.

“All of these guys are the go-to guys on their respective NHL teams,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. “Not everybody can play on the first power play. Not everybody can play on a power play. We need some guys that are going to have to be a big part of the penalty kill.

“We’re going to have to manage minutes and define roles for everyone so that we can come together as a team, and that’s one of the biggest challenges of these types of tournaments, and we’re going through that process right now. That was a conversation we had with our group, and we’ll continue to have that conversation with our group.”

Larkin illustrates a good problem to have for the United States, which opens against Finland at Bell Centre on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

The U.S. might have its deepest pool of talent since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, the only best-on-best tournament they’ve won.

They had to leave some good forwards off the roster in the first place, including Clayton Keller of the Utah Hockey Club, Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens and Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres.

Whom would you leave off the power play for Larkin?

The first unit was defenseman Adam Fox with forwards Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk.

The second unit was defenseman Zach Werenski with forwards Matt Boldy, Kyle Connor, Jake Guentzel and Brady Tkachuk.

“Yeah,” said general manager Bill Guerin, a forward on the 1996 World Cup team. “I mean, this is the tricky part, but we believe that we’ve got the right mix. Guys, they’re buying into their roles. I mean, you can only have so many guys on a power play or a penalty kill, whatever it is. They’re all used to playing big minutes, big roles.

“But Mike used the term ‘self-sacrifice’ the other day. There are sacrifices that are going to have to be made. You’re going to have to accept a role, do things that you’re normally not asked to do. But the depth of the team, I mean, that’s where we are, and that’s a good thing.”

Here’s the thing about Larkin: He’s a fiery competitor who went through the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and has represented his country in multiple international tournaments. He’s a leader as the captain of the Red Wings. He’s also second among Detroit forwards in short-handed ice time (63:30) this season, behind J.T. Compher (84:53).

“I totally understand it, and I’m excited to get out there and penalty kill,” Larkin said. “And if they need me on the power play at some point throughout the tournament, I’ll be ready. We’ve talked about it a little before as a group of buying into your role and accepting it. I’m just a guy that I’ll do anything to play on this team, and if that means not being on the power play, killing penalties, I’ll do it with a smile on my face.”

The United States had players with that attitude in 1996, and that’s what Guerin and his management team wanted for this tournament.

“When I look back to ’96, we did what we had to do,” Guerin said. “You played where you had to play, and you accepted the role that you had to accept. Putting together the team, it was more looking at … well, I was looking at the player, but then I was looking at the person as well.”

The best talent won’t necessarily win this tournament. The best team will.

And there is little to no time to experiment.

Each team will play three round-robin games, earning three points for a win in regulation, two points for win in overtime or a shootout, one point for loss in OT or a shootout, and none for a loss in regulation.

The United States plays Canada at Bell Centre on Saturday and Sweden at TD Garden in Boston on Monday.

The championship game is at TD Garden on Feb. 20.

“I think a big part of it is understanding that we’re all going to have to make some sacrifices here for the betterment of the team,” Sullivan said. “That’s the mindset that we have to take. We know we have capable guys at all kinds of positions, and what we’re trying to figure out is how we put the pieces together that give us the best chance to win.”