NHL Lessons Learned: United States Hockey is Back

The ascending United States hockey team is the biggest NHL lesson learned this past week.

Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team United States goalie Connor Hellebuyck (37) makes a blocker save against Team Canada in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The NHL is on vacation as the 4 Nations Face-Off continues for its second week. After one week of action at the international tournament, there's been plenty of excellent hockey and lessons to learn. Let's dive into a few of the key takeaways.

1. International Hockey is So Back

The 4 Nations Face-Off has already been a success, and there are still preliminary games to play. Putting Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States in a winner-take-all tournament was a brilliant idea, and it's kicking off a best-on-best event taking place every other year.

So far, each game has been exciting and fiery. What many thought would be a set of exhibition games is instead a truncated playoff series for some of the best NHL players. It's official, international hockey is hitting a new level.

2. United States Peaking

The stand-out squad of the 4 Nations Face-Off is the United States. They dismantled Finland by a score of 6-1 and then outperformed Canada two days later, earning a 3-1 victory.

It's all coming together for Team USA, and they are peaking at the right time. They have one more round-robin game, but already have their spot in the finals clinched.

Each piece of their squad is peaking. The forward unit is playing a fast-paced game that is creating and converting scoring chances. The defense is stout, allowing just two goals in two games. And they are backstopped by the best goalie in the world in Winnipeg Jets netminder, Connor Hellebuyck.

3. Sweden Falling Short

Lost in the shuffle of the Canada and USA slugfest is that Sweden fell in overtime to Finland earlier that day. That was Sweden's second overtime loss in the tournament, and they enter their final round-robin game against the USA looking for their first victory.

If they fail to win this game, it will be a failure of a showing for Sweden. Their roster lined up with the other three countries, but their performance at the 4 Nations has been very disappointing.

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