As the Edmonton Oilers head into the Four Nations Faceoff break, they find themselves at the top of the Pacific Division with an impressive 34-17-4 record (72 pts). Teammates Connor McDavid, Viktor Arvidsson, and Mattias Ekholm are now gearing up for the highly anticipated best-on-best hockey Four Nations tournament. In the opening game this Wednesday night at 8:00 PM EST, Arvidsson and Ekholm will represent Team Sweden as they take on McDavid and Team Canada at the iconic Bell Centre in Montreal.
Connor McDavid (Canada):
McDavid is once again having a spectacular season, racking up 71 points in just 49 games, which puts him tied for fourth in the NHL. With 26 goals and 49 assists under his belt and a solid +10 plus/minus rating, he’s been instrumental in pushing the Oilers toward the possibility of winning the Pacific Division for the first time since 1987. Now, he will get his first chance in his professional career to represent Team Canada on the world stage, even if it isn’t in the Olympics.
McDavid will begin the Four Nations as the top line Center alongside Florida’s Sam Reinhart (LW) and Toronto’s Mitch Marner (RW). Looking at that top line will be quite scary for opponents, given their elite skill with the puck and passing abilities, especially with McDavid’s dishing ability.
Wednesday night will be McDavid’s first chance to play alongside one of his childhood role models, Sidney Crosby, one of the best Canadian hockey players ever to lace them up. Although it seems he won’t be on a line with Sid, it seems he will slot in on the power play with him, Makar, Reinhart, and MacKinnon, as seen during Tuesday’s practice. It will be interesting to see how this power play plays out with so much skill, but my lord, that is one scary sight if you’re on the PK against that group.
“My relationship with Sid is great. It’s something that’s definitely developed over the years. Definitely a guy I look up to, he’s a guy that’s been here before, understands these types of moments these types of situations and definitely a guy to lean on in times like this.”
McDavid on the chance to play with Sidney Crosby
Mattias Ekholm (Sweden):
Mattias Ekholm has had yet another solid start to the season on the back end with Edmonton but will now get the chance to represent his home country on the national stage. At Tuesday’s practice, Ekholm was a part of the third defensive pairing alongside Pittsburg’s Erik Karlsson. Karlsson is an elite dishing two-way defenseman, who’s great on the breakout. The fact that a Ekholm – Karlsson pairing could be the third pairing goes to show how sneaky good this Sweden defensive core is and will now be put to the test Wednesday night against the star-studded Canadian forward group in Wednesday’s opener.
For Ekholm, this means that he will be going up against his teammate Connor McDavid, not a challenge he is unfamiliar with. Before being traded to Edmonton in February of 2023, Mattias faced the Oilers a ton as a member of the Nashville Predators. Maybe being his teammate for nearly two years will help in this scenario, however, he is mainly focused on getting his team prepared all around than just one particular player.
“I’m going to have to be on top of my game, and everybody that’s out there against him is going to have to do that. But at the end of the day, he’s the best in the world. We know that, but we’re going to have to focus on our team and what we’re doing.”
Ekholm on facing his teammate Connor McDavid
Viktor Arvidsson (Sweden):
Viktor Arvidsson has bounced all over the Oilers lineup this season, as he has struggled a little bit to get going offensively. Through 39 GP after an early season undisclosed injury, he has 18 points (7 G, 11 A), and will now get a chance to represent Sweden alongside Mattias Ekholm. He will slot in for Sweden in the bottom six on the fourth line as the RW, alongside Boston’s two-way forward Elias Lindholm (C) and Nashville’s Gustav Nyquist (LW). This will likely serve as a hard forechecking line that could maybe score a depth goal or two in this short tournament, but it will surely be great to see him play for his home country.
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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