4 Nations Face-Off Team Previews: Team USA rosters, key players & major storylines to watch

The 4 Nations Face-Off is set to kick off on Wednesday with the Sweden vs Canada game. The tournament will take place in Montreal and Boston, as Sweden, Canada, USA and Finland are teams competing in the event.

Entering the tournament, USA and Canada are co-favorites to win the tournament.

USA 4 Nations Roster

USA has a stacked roster and its roster is as follows:

Forwards

• Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild
• Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
• Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights
• Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
• Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
• Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
• Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
• J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
• Brock Nelson, New York Islanders
• Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
• Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
• Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers

USA has a potent offense featuring the likes of Matthews, Eichel, the Tkachuk brothers, and Kyle Connor.

Defensemen

• Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild
• Adam Fox, New York Rangers
• Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights
• Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins
• Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators
• Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
• Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets

USA Hockey did lose Quinn Hughes to injury which is a blow to the blue line. But, they will be led by the likes of Faber, Fox and Werenski.

Goalies

• Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
• Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
• Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

USA has the best goalie group in the tournament and will likely start Connor Hellebuyck who is the Vezina front runner.

Players to watch for USA

USA will be led by its goaltending as Hellbuyck will be the starter, but Oettinger will likely have a chance to start a game and could take the net if Hellebuyck struggles.

Outside of the goalies, Auston Matthews will have the most eyes on him given he is their captain. Matthews is one of, if not the best pure goal scorer in the NHL and he will be relied upon a ton to lead this USA offense.

USA 4 Nations Storylines

The biggest storyline for the USA is if they can live up to the hype and pressure. For the first time in quite some time, USA is the team many expect will win it all.

Canada has dominated best-on-best hockey, but now USA has caught up with talent, but whether or not the pressure will get to them is to be seen.

USA 4 Nations schedule

USA's schedule is as follows:

Thursday, Feb. 13

United States vs. Finland, 8 p.m. EST

Saturday, Feb. 15

United States vs. Canada, 8 p.m. EST

Monday, Feb. 17

Sweden vs. United States, 8 p.m. EST

Thursday, Feb. 20

Championship game, 8 p.m. EST