Canada embracing pressure at 4 Nations Face-Off

BROSSARD, Quebec -- The Rogers ad is posted around Montreal. It shows Connor McDavid skating in a Canada uniform beneath a bold statement -- four words in French, all caps. The second two words are blown up for emphasis. The last word is in red.

“NOTRE ÉQUIPE. NOTRE SPORT.”

English translation: “OUR TEAM. OUR SPORT.”

This is the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. But one nation claims hockey as its own and must fend off three worthy challengers.

“Obviously, as Canadians, the players feel the same way as the fans,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “We expect to win, and we’re not going to be satisfied with anything but a championship.

“I think a lot of the guys in here, we feel that pressure, obviously. But that’s what we thrive under. That’s why [we’re] all superstars in this league, is because we thrive under that pressure, and it doesn’t affect our game.”

It ain’t bragging if it’s true.

The first tournament like this was Canada’s. It was literally called the Canada Cup. The five events from 1976-1991 were played predominately in Canada. Canada won four of the five.

The World Cup of Hockey was played three times from 1996-2016. Canada won two of the three tournaments.

NHL players went to the Olympics five times from 1998-2014. Canada won three of the five gold medals.

Add it up, and Canada has won nine of the 13 best-on-best tournaments, including four of the past five and each of the past three.

Among the other three nations in this tournament, the United States won the World Cup in 1996, and Sweden won gold at the Olympics in 2006. That’s it. Finland has never won a best-on-best tournament.

The players wearing the Maple Leaf today grew up watching Canada dominate on the international stage, and it’s on them carry on that legacy for the next generation.

“Definitely feel a lot of pressure,” forward Nathan MacKinnon said. “Absolutely. I think pressure is a privilege, and I’m glad there’s pressure. It means people expect a lot of us.

“We’re maybe inspiration to some young kids around the country. If I was 10 years old right now, I’d be tuned in to this tournament. So, definitely excited.”

Canada has the deepest talent pool in the world, and its national team is stacked with champions and award winners yet again.

Each team skated for the first time Monday at the Montreal Canadiens practice facility. Look at Canada’s first power-play unit: MacKinnon, McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Sam Reinhart and Cale Makar.

Defenseman Colton Parayko, who was on the penalty kill, just laughed.

“That’s quite the unit right there,” Parayko said. “A lot of speed, a lot of skill, a lot of hockey knowledge, a lot of everything, so great unit, and looking forward to watching them as the tournament goes on and build as a group and just dominate.”

But here’s the problem: They need to develop chemistry with little time. This is a short tournament with little margin for error.

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.

Canada opens against Sweden at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS), then plays the United States there Saturday and Finland at TD Garden in Boston on Feb. 17.

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

“It’s not always the best players that win,” coach Jon Cooper said. “It’s the best team that wins, and I think the team that gels the quickest and kind of plays for each other, especially in such a short tournament, will have the advantage.”

Although Canada remains the largest supplier of players to the NHL by far, the other three nations in this tournament are catching up, especially the United States.

In 2016-17, following the last best-on-best tournament, 45.9 percent of NHL players came from Canada, 26.8 from the United States, 9.15 from Sweden and 3.96 from Finland.

This season, 40.7 percent of NHL players have come from Canada, 29.4 from the United States, 9.82 from Sweden and 5.70 from Finland.

“Obviously, we take a lot of pride in hockey and trying to work towards being the best,” forward Brad Marchand said. “When you think of Canada, the only thing that they want to accomplish is to win.

“But obviously, you’ve seen every other nation now, the development they’re putting into their programs. There are such small margins between any sort of team at any level. Now, the four teams in this tournament, they’re all incredible. It’s a very, very even playing field.”

Whose sport is it, really, nowadays?

Some think the United States is the favorite in this tournament, not Canada.

“That’s OK,” said Crosby, Canada’s captain. “There’s always going to be certain narratives. I think really it’s just about our group and making sure that we do everything we can to be at our best.

“Whether it’s the U.S. or Sweden or Finland, [these are] some good teams, so we’ve just got to worry about what we need to do to be the best team we can.”