3 Keys: United States vs. Finland, 4 Nations Face-Off

UNITED STATES vs. FINLAND

4 Nations Face-Off, Bell Centre, Montreal

8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS

MONTREAL -- The United States and Finland will get their chance to jump into the action in the 4 Nations Face-Off when they face off at Bell Centre on Thursday.

The tournament began Wednesday, when Mitch Marner scored in overtime and Sidney Crosby had three assists to lift Canada to a 4-3 win against Sweden after the Swedes came back from down 3-1 in the third period in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,105 at Bell Centre.

"Watching that game last night was awesome," U.S. defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. "It was an electric hockey game. The pace was amazing. The skills on display. That's what we've been thinking this was going to be and it was everything and more last night, so, yeah, watching that all you could think of is let's go drop the puck. Today is our turn and we can't wait."

As expected, goalie Connor Hellebuyck will start for the U.S. and Juuse Saros for Finland. That's the case most times in the Central Division when the Winnipeg Jets (Hellebuyck) and Nashville Predators (Saros) play one other.

The Finns, unfortunately, had to make three changes on defense because of injuries in the NHL season. Miro Heiskanen, who would have been the No. 1 defenseman, is not here. Neither are Rasmus Ristolainen and Jani Hakanpaa.

Instead, Urho Vaakanainen, Henri Jokiharju and Nikolas Matinpalo will be part of Finland's defense corps with Esa Lindell, Niko Mikkola and Olli Maatta.

"I feel like we're always doubted," Finland forward Patrik Laine said. "We know what we can do out there. Nothing better than proving people wrong. We like to do that."

This will also be the first time that Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk will play together for the same team in the same game other than the 2023 NHL All-Star Game.

The Tkachuks will become the 14th set of brothers to play on the same team in an NHL international tournament and fifth to do so with the United States, joining Derian and Kevin Hatcher (1996 World Cup of Hockey), Aaron and Neal Broten (1984 Canada Cup), Brian and Joe Mullen ('84 Canada Cup), and Curt and Harvey Bennett (1976 Canada Cup).

"They're going to bring a really great element to our group," U.S. forward Jack Eichel said.

This will be the first time in 21 years that the United States and Finland will face off in an NHL international tournament (Olympics not included). Finland defeated the U.S. 2-1 in the semifinals of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey before losing to Canada 3-2 in the final.

Here are three keys to the game:

1. Saros might need to steal the show

Saros will play against a loaded U.S. roster and behind a depleted Finland defense. The Finns are going to need the very best out of the Predators goalie if they are to find a way to win.

That means Saros is going to have to find his game in short order.

Prior to the break, Saros was 0-5-0 with a 4.43 goals-against average and .862 save percentage in six starts since Jan. 21. He is 11-23-6 with 2.95 GAA, .899 save percentage and four shutouts in 41 games (all starts) this season.

2. Hellebuyck's big moment

Hellebuyck is having the best season of any NHL goalie. Though he's in line to win the Vezina Trophy voted as the League's best for the second straight season and the third time in his 10-year NHL career, his resume on the biggest stages of the game doesn't add up to what he's done in the regular season.

This is Hellebuyck's chance to change that. He is 18-27 with a 2.85 GAA, .911 save percentage and three shutouts in 45 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He has won two playoff games in the past two seasons; both Game 1s.

"He exudes a quiet confidence about him, and you can tell by talking to him how important this event is," U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said of Hellebuyck. "He really wants to win."

3. Finns can't get stuck defending

The best way for Finland to avoid having its defense become a liability is to play on the other end of the ice. That makes it incumbent on the forwards to forecheck aggressively and keep the puck down on that end as much as possible.

The Finns can't do that with risk. Turnovers will be killers against the U.S. speed and skill.

"We know obviously they have a lot of skill guys who like to make plays," Laine said, "so just have to be on top of them, got to take care of that, take care of the puck on both blue lines, get it in and out. Stick to unit of fives, play together and the big key is not to give them any freebies, no turnovers. Take care of our own end and we'll attack from there."

It will be Finland's greatest challenge during the game because the U.S. will try to play fast through the neutral zone and set up shop in Finland's defensive zone. The Americans know where the Finns are most vulnerable. It's on the back end, so applying pressure to Finland's defensemen should be a big part of the gameplan.

"I definitely think when guys of that caliber, like Heiskanen out of the lineup, it definitely takes away a big element of their team but it's such a good team," U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski said. "They'll be playing with a lot of energy tonight. They play with a lot of pride for their country. Whenever you play Finland, it's always a tough game and they always buy into the team system.

"For us, it's having the mindset that we're going to try to win the game 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, whatever it is. Yeah, probably our mindset is to get pucks deep, go to work and see what happens, but they still have a lot of skill over there. Guys step up. Guys are prepared and ready to go. We're expecting that from Finland tonight."

United States projected lineup

Kyle Connor -- Jack Eichel -- Matthew Tkachuk

Jake Guentzel -- Auston Matthews -- Jack Hughes

Brady Tkachuk -- J.T. Miller -- Matt Boldy

Brock Nelson -- Vincent Trocheck -- Dylan Larkin

Zach Werenski -- Charlie McAvoy

Jaccob Slavin -- Adam Fox

Noah Hanifin -- Brock Faber

Connor Hellebuyck

Jake Oettinger

Scratched: Chris Kreider, Jake Sanderson, Jeremy Swayman

Injured: None

Finland projected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen -- Aleksander Barkov -- Mikko Rantanen

Roope Hintz -- Sebastian Aho -- Patrik Laine

Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Mikael Granlund

Teuvo Teravainen -- Erik Haula -- Joel Armia

Niko Mikkola -- Esa Lindell

Urho Vaakanainen -- Nikolas Matinpalo

Olli Maatta -- Henri Jokiharju

Juuse Saros

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Scratched: Juuso Valimaki, Kaapo Kakko, Kevin Lankinen

Injured: None

Status report

Rantanen did not participate in Finland's optional morning skate. He is expected to play, but coach Antti Pennanen could update his status before the game.