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McDavid, Crosby, MacKinnon Start Off 4 Nations Face-Off With Highlight-Reel Goal

The stars are out in Montreal tonight.
Michael Kadlick|
Team Canada celebrates the opening goal of the NHL's Four Nations Face-Off.
Team Canada celebrates the opening goal of the NHL's Four Nations Face-Off. | Screenshot via @BR_OpenIce on X.

The NHL is trying something new this year in place of their annual All-Star Game, opting for what they're calling the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The round-robin tournament—being played between four teams of NHLers from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States—began on Tuesday night in Montreal.

The event started off with quite a bang as less than a minute into game one, Team Canada struck first with a tic-tac-toe type of goal on Sweden.

The puck went from Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid to Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, back to McDavid, and back to Crosby before the 37-year-old found Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon with a back-handed pass across the crease for a score.

Here's a look, as shared by B/R Open Ice on X (formerly Twitter):

That's what happens when you put that many stars on the ice together.

The round-robin tournament continues on Wednesday with the United States and Finland facing off from the Bell Centre at 8:00 p.m. ET—and will be played through next Thursday, Feb. 20, with the final taking place at Boston's TD Garden.

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Mike Kadlick
MICHAEL KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is an NFL writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s also a New England Patriots reporter for CLNS Media, where he hosts the Patriots Daily podcast and covers the beat from Gillette Stadium. Before joining SI, Kadlick worked at WEEI sports radio in Boston. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University. When Kadlick’s not covering football, he can be found running, spending time with his wife and dog, and enjoying all things pizza.

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