Four Nations Face-Off Odds, Favorites, Longshots

For the first time ever, the NHL is hosting a best-on-best international tournament in the middle of its regular season.

The inaugural Four Nations Face-Off is replacing the regularly scheduled All-Star weekend in 2025, with the best players of Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States squaring off over an eight-day tournament from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

The NHL has previously paused its season for players to participate in the IIHF-sanctioned Winter Olympics, but Four Nations stands as the first NHL-sponsored, international event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which Canada won by defeating Team Europe in the best-of-3 tournament series.

Naturally, the quality of play will be highly scrutinized, but if the players take it seriously, it should be a great event. Here is everything you need to know about the Four Nations Face-Off and how to bet on it.

Four Nations Face-Off Schedule

All times Eastern

• Feb. 12: Sweden vs Canada, 8 p.m., Bell Centre in Montreal
• Feb. 13: Finland vs United States, 8 p.m., Bell Centre in Montreal
• Feb. 15: Sweden vs Finland, 1 p.m., Bell Centre in Montreal
• Feb. 15: United States vs Canada, 8 p.m., Bell Centre in Montreal
• Feb. 17: Canada vs Finland, 1 p.m., TD Garden in Boston
• Feb. 17: Sweden vs United States, 8 p.m., TD Garden in Boston
• Feb. 20: Championship Game, 8 p.m., TD Garden in Boston

Four Nations Face-Off Odds

• United States (+105)
• Canada (+140) 
• Sweden (+650)
• Finland (+2500)

Four Nations Face-Off Favorites

Canada (+140)

Canadians will be right to tell you they have won every best-on-best tournament since 2006, and Canada has claimed every best-on-best tournament played in North America since its upset to the U.S. in the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

With a superstar-laden roster that features Hart Trophy winners Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, plus perennial Norris Trophy candidate Cale Makar, Canada is loaded and rightly deserving of its place as co-favorites, especially since it will play two games at home in Montreal.

Canada will be without defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who had to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Drew Doughty. 

Otherwise, Canada’s biggest question marks will be in goal. There are bona fide concerns about Canada’s goaltending. The last time Canada won an international tournament, Carey Price was in net, and even though Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill have each won the Stanley Cup, the Canadians likely are perceived to have the tournament’s worst goaltending.

United States (+105)

If Hockey Canada has been chomping at the bit to get a best-on-best tournament played, USA Hockey must have been as well. This is the golden age of American hockey, and the Four Nations roster reflects the incredible skill and depth of USA Hockey’s development.

The Americans are the only roster to feature a Hart Trophy winner (Auston Matthews), Vezina Trophy winner (Connor Hellebuyck) and Norris Trophy winner (Adam Fox). The American roster initially featured reigning Norris winner Quinn Hughes too, though he had to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators.

Still, Matthews isn’t the only super-skilled forward since Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk and the criminally underrated Kyle Connor make up arguably the best forward group in the tournament.

Coaching has historically been an issue in previous best-on-best ideations, since the Americans have played a gritty, underdog style despite boasting superior talent. With a skill-laden roster and two-time Stanley Cup winner Mike Sullivan running the bench, that shouldn’t be an issue this year, but it will be worth keeping an eye on.

Four Nations Face-Off Longshots

Sweden (+650)

Sweden actually was the last nation aside from Canada to win a best-on-best tournament, though Henrik Lundqvist was the goalie when the Swedes topped the Finns to claim the gold medal at the 2006 Torino Olympics.

Sweden is a fun darkhorse to consider wagering, even though it has been beset by injuries, notably to goalie Jacob Markstrom and forward William Karlsson, who have each been replaced by Samuel Ersson and Rickard Rakell. 

The Swedes still boast a pair of former Norris Trophy winners, three-time recipient Erik Karlsson and the 2018 winner Victor Hedman. Plus, even without Markstrom, 2023 Vezina Trophy winner will be Sweden’s primary goaltender. 

The Swedes tend to play a smart style, but their roster is still loaded with offensive skill, keyed by William Nylander, Filip Forsberg and Elias Pettersson. Whether they have enough offensive firepower to get past the U.S. and Canada remains to be seen.

Finland (+2500)

Like Sweden, Finland is an intriguing underdog, especially at the current odds. Still, Finland is a deserving underdog since it the only roster without a Hart, Vezina or Norris Trophy winner and its defense has been ravaged by injuries – Miro Heiskanen, Jani Hakanpaa and Rasmus Ristolainen will all miss the tournament due to injury. 

Still, Finland still is a world power on the ice, and Aleksander Barkov has won the Selke Trophy twice and held off McDavid in last year’s Stanley Cup Final. The Finns can keep up offensively with two-time 100-point producer Mikko Rantanen and Carolina Hurricanes linemate Sebastian Aho.

Ultimately, there are no underdogs in this tournament since the Finland roster is loaded, even though many of its players are less accomplished in terms of individual awards. Like all the teams, the Finns can win it. They just seem like the least likely to do so entering the tournament.

Four Nations Face-Off Prop Bets

Team USA: Over 5.5 Round-Robin Points (-115)

The format is being played under IIHF points rules, which means three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, one for an overtime loss and zero for a regulation loss. The Americans have a loaded roster capable of competing with Canada in their initial round-robin game (Feb. 15) even though that game will be played in Montreal.

Expect the U.S. to win at least two of its three round-robin games, and it is capable of earning a point against Canada even if one of those victories happened to come in overtime. The coin-flip odds make this a valuable play, since this prop could conceivably hit before the highly anticipated U.S. vs Canada showdown Saturday.

Tournament’s top goal scorer: Brayden Point (+1000)

If this seems at all unnerving due to Auston Matthews’ spot, you can take Point to lead team Canada in goals scored during the tournament (+450). But Point started pre-tournament practice alongside Seth Jarvis and Brad Marchand on Canada’s third line, and on its second power-play unit, which means favorable matchups.

Point is one of the league’s most lethal goal scorers – he is tied for third in the league (31) and is seventh in the NHL in goals (295) since 2016-17, when he entered the league. Whether Canada wins or not, Point stands to play the most games in the tournament, since Canada is likely to at least reach the tournament final.

Matthews (+800), Connor McDavid (+1000) and Sam Reinhart (+1000) are all compelling plays. But Point has a knack for scoring in big games too, proven by his 42 career playoff goals, which are the second-most over his eight-season career.