Everything you need to know about the 4 Nations Face-Off

The GIST: It’s been 84 years nearly a decade, but the world’s best men’s hockey players are finally taking center ice in international competition, ready to represent their respective home countries at the NHL’s highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off.

• Choose your fighter, then scroll on for all the deets before the puck drops on the opening game tonight.

The context: From the lack of player effort to the perceived gimmicks, All-Star games have a bad rap across pro sports. That’s why this year the NHL is swapping the traditional All-Star game for the 4 Nations Face-Off, aka an international tournament featuring NHL players from, well, four nations: Canada, the USA, Finland, and Sweden.

• And everyone is excited: With the NHL banning its players from Olympic competition for the last two Games, this marks the first time in nine years that these four countries will showcase their top talent on the international stage.

• That’s right, many of the league’s superstars, including Canadian Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and American Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), have yet to represent their country as pros…until now.

How it works: The round-robin tournament ensures every country plays three games, one against each team. From there, the top two teams in the standings compete for the championship (and a whole lot of bragging rights) on February 20th.

• The best part? The spice. There’s a storied hockey history between Canada and the U.S., while Finland and Sweden’s rivalry runs even deeper — and that means these games matter to players and fans alike. International competition just hits different.

What to watch: The tourney begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET with Canada taking on Sweden at Montreal’s Bell Centre, followed by tomorrow’s 8 p.m. ET tilt between the USA and Finland. Puck yeah.