After 2 nights of thrilling best-on-best hockey action, Friday is a day off for all of the players participating at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal and Boston. If you didn’t get a chance to watch either of these games, make sure you check out the highlights on YouTube, because so far this tournament has exceeded my expectations as a whole. This event is just a preview as to what hockey could look like on the big stage at the 2026 Olympics, followed by the return of the World Cup of Hockey (with 8 teams) in 2028.

Before day 3 of the tournament begins on Saturday with two epic rivalries (Sweden vs. Finland followed by Canada vs. USA), it’s a good time to check in on how each of the 3 Jets looked and performed in their first game representing their home country. While Mark Scheifele didn’t quite make the cut for Canada, he still remains the “next option” if Canada were to be down 1 forward. Josh Morrissey stepped up after Shea Theodore was injured in Canada’s opening game, while Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck made their contributions felt in a big win by the USA over Finland last night. Here’s a closer look at each of the Jets first game at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal.

Josh Morrissey was on Team Canada’s 2nd pairing with Colton Parayko to open the night. Morrissey got the crowd cheering early in the 1st period when he threw a big hit on Sweden’s Joel Eriksson Ek. Morrissey’s presence was felt on the ice throughout the game. After Shea Theodore suffered a wrist injury that forced him to leave the game, Canada was down to 5 defencemen. While Theodore was on the 3rd pairing with Drew Doughty, each of the remaining defenders had to be tasked with more ice time. Morrissey finished the game with 23:17 time on the ice (3rd among Canada’s defencemen), while recording 2 blocked shots and that big hit in the 1st.

Fans probably remember Morrissey taking Canada’s only penalty of the game, a high-sticking call against Eriksson Ek, but luckily Canada’s PK came up clutch to stop Sweden’s only powerplay of the game. Look for Morrissey to continue playing his role in the top 4 defence for Canada on Saturday night as the “next guy” after Canada’s top pairing of Devon Toews and Cale Makar.

Last night Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck battled team Finland in Montreal. After Finland opened the scoring, USA tied it at 1. The game was 2-1 USA after the 2nd, before the USA opened the game early in the 3rd, winning this one 6-1. Hellebuyck got the start in goal for Team USA, earning the starting job thanks to his incredible play with the Jets this season. The one puck that fooled Hellebuyck was a bit of a “knuckle puck” from Henrik Jokiharju from the right faceoff dot that slipped by Hellebuyck under his right arm. After that, Hellebuyck was locked in, making a total of 20 saves on 21 shots. It wasn’t that busy of a night for Hellebuyck, but he was still solid in net, showing Team USA that they made the right choice in starting him.

Kyle Connor started the game for Team USA on a line with Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk. After some line shuffling throughout the game, Connor finished the game with JT Miller and Matt Boldy. Connor recorded a secondary assist on Matt Boldy’s goal which gave USA a 2-1 lead late in the 2nd period. Connor finished the game with 14:23 time on the ice (near the middle for USA forwards), 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 2 hits and 1/1 on face-offs. It’ll be interesting to see who Connor’s linemates will be next game, but it appears that he did enough to stay in the top 6 on this stacked roster.

Each of the 3 Jets made impacts in different ways in game 1 of 3 for their country. Morrissey was a steady presence on defence, Connor helped his various linemates with his good puck movement, and Hellebuyck was nearly perfect on his semi-quiet 20 save night. Up next for these 3 Jets is a head to head matchup which could be a preview of the championship game. Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck of Team USA will take on Josh Morrissey and Team Canada at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday night at 7:00 pm CT. This game is “must watch TV” and my eyes will be watching to see how each of the 3 Jets play in this big game.

Morrissey and Team Canada conclude round robin play on Monday morning against Finland in Boston, while Connor and Hellebuyck will play during prime time on Monday night in Boston against Sweden. The top 2 teams in the standings after these games will head to the 1 game championship in Boston on Thursday night at 7:00 pm CT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for a post-game analysis on the 3 Jets playing in Saturday night’s USA-Canada matchup.