This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The NHL is on break, but the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament is about to get underway. Canada will face Sweden, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. FanDuel will allow you to build a lineup for that matchup. Here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
This is a one-game slate, which means that your lineup will consist of five players – a Captain, who earns 1.5 times as many points, and four Utility players. You'll be working with a salary cap of $55,000.
CAPTAIN
Connor McDavid, CAN vs. SWE ($14,000): It's been a while since McDavid got to represent Canada. The last time he did so was in the 2018 World Championship when McDavid scored five goals and 17 points in 10 outings. In recent years, Edmonton has consistently made the playoffs, which conflicts with the World Championship's schedule. McDavid has developed a knack for rising to the occasion, supplying 32 goals and 108 points across 61 playoff appearances dating back to 2020. Now slated to play alongside Sam Reinhart and Mitch Marner, he should do fantastic.
UTILITY
Sam Reinhart, CAN at SWE ($11,500): Reinhart elevated his game in 2023-24 by scoring a career-high 57 goals (94 points) across 82 regular-season games. He's doing great again this campaign with 31 goals and 62 points through 57 appearances. The projected duo of McDavid and Marner should generate a ton of scoring chances for Reinhart.
Mitch Marner, CAN at SWE ($10,500): It's perfectly feasible to get the full McDavid line, and there's a lot of merit to doing so. Marner, in particular, is a good grab. Although he's the cheapest of the trio, he's having a fantastic campaign with 16 goals and 71 points in 54 outings. The only downside is Marner is projected to play on the second power-play unit whereas McDavid and Reinhart will be paired up with Nathan MacKinnon ($15,000), Sidney Crosby ($11,000) and Cale Makar on the first.
Cale Makar, CAN at SWE ($9,500): Speaking of Makar, he should thrive on that top power-play unit. He has 22 goals and 63 points in 57 appearances this season, including 26 points with the man advantage. He's also red-hot, having supplied three goals and five points across two outings with Colorado going into this tournament.
Adrian Kempe, SWE vs. CAN ($9,000): You need at least one player from each team, and I think Kempe provides a lot of value. He's been solid this campaign with 25 goals and 46 points through 53 outings. He's set to play on a strong line with Elias Pettersson ($7,000) and Filip Forsberg ($13,500). It also has to be said that Canada's goaltending is its biggest question mark. While Team Canada has the advantage in terms of raw star power up front, Sweden is also in a good position to do some damage.
