"Zibanejad as 1C is pretty brutal"; "Brett on 3rd is a war crime": Fans mock Sweden's practice lines ahead of 4 Nations Face-Off opener vs Canada 

NHL fans on social media reacted to Sweden's practice lines ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

The lines included William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad and Rickard Rakell on the first line.

However, fans on X/Twitter seemed somewhat displeased with the lineup, as they shared their thoughts.

One fan said:

"Zibanejad as your 1C is pretty brutal. Canada and USA have probably 4-6 centers I’d put over him if they were on Sweden lol."

Another chimed in:

"For those who are not aware the highest scoring Swede is Jesper Bratt. How is he on the 3rd line while Rakell is on the 1st ?!?!?!"

Here are some of the other top reactions on X:

"I wanna see …Bratt Ep40 and Raymond Nylander Ek Forsberg Kempe Zib Rakell This looks way better, much more balanced," one fan suggested.

"Ok so 2nd and 3rd line are my expected top performers. Nylander and Rakell got put in the graveyard shift with Zibanejad LOL, i struggle 2 see how either of them will produce now unless on the PP," another fan said.

"Raymond/Bratt should go to the first line, seems weird to have the two top Swedish scorers on the same line and the two top Swedish playmakers on the same line," a fan chimed in.

"This is what happens when your lineup isn’t as strong as other teams in the tournament. You need to spread around the talent rather than load up," another fan expressed disappointment with the lines.

Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson joined Adrian Kempe and Filip Forsberg on the second line. On the defensive side, Victor Hedman was paired with Jonas Brodin on the top defensive line.

Meanwhile, the second defensive pair included veterans Matias Ekholm and Erik Karlsson. In the third pairing, Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin teamed up with Flames' Rasmus Andersson.

Sweden faces challenging opening matchup at 4 Nations Face-off

Sweden will have a daunting task in their opening matchup of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. They will be up against the mighty Canada in their opening game at Bell Centre Arena in Montreal.

Team Canada, led by Sidney Crosby and filled with superstars, is among the heavy favorites alongside the USA for the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

It will be intriguing to see what strategy Sweden comes up with to thwart them. The puck drops on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET.