Thursday night, one nation becomes victorious the morning after, everyone flies back to their NHL club teams and the regular season continues.
Regardless of what happens in the Canada vs. USA final, the 4 Nations Face-Off has delivered in every way possible, but while this has been happening, we may have forgotten that the rest of the league got a break for over 10 days. A chance to reset their bodies mentally and physically for the rest of the NHL season. The same can be said for most of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were either on vacation or spending time with their family and just <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/seravalli-maple-leafs-players-4-nations-face-off-playoffs">returned to practice</a> on Tuesday.
But for William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner there was no break.
While Nylander gets a few days rest after being eliminated from the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Monday, Matthews and Marner <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/marner-matthews-chance-to-inspire-leafs-nation-thursday-night">get the honour</a> of playing in arguably the biggest hockey game since the Olympic final in 2010. This will be game three for Matthews in the 4 Nations, who missed Monday’s game vs. Sweden for precautionary reasons, while Marner will be playing in his fourth game.
Either way, a Toronto Maple Leafs player will be lifting the unnamed trophy and celebrating with their country. All this excitement, however, raises the question of whether the Leafs should rest Matthews and Marner this weekend during their back-to-backs against the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks.
The argument to play this weekend
Look, the NHL season is a long and gruelling season, but every player of the 4 Nations knew this tournament was happening and they had the option to pull out if they wanted, just like Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo who withdrew his name from team Canada on Jan 26 because of an injury. So, an argument can be made that if you can play in the 4 Nations Face-Off, you can also play in the NHL regular season games that follow. And while the NHL has never had the problem the NBA does with guys resting, giving guys the chance to rest after this event might open the possibility of it happening again in the future.
If Matthews and Marner do play this weekend, they will be flying back to Toronto on Friday for a home game on Saturday vs. the Carolina Hurricanes, before hitting the road for a short flight to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Sunday. The downfall though is that short flight is the start of a four-game road trip that runs until March 2 in Pittsburgh.
Why they should rest this weekend
The Maple Leafs are in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race, just three points out of first place in the Atlantic—just eight points from being out of the playoffs. But if Matthews and Marner both play, they will have hardly any rest if they play in both or even just one game this weekend. Missing both of them from the lineup would be difficult for sure, but the only ‘good’ team they&#8217;re playing is Carolina and then they should realistically have an easier matchup on Sunday vs. the Blackhawks.
For Matthews, he’s already missed 15 games this season dealing with injury and while he only missed Monday’s game due to precautionary reasons there is some real worry around if he can stay healthy for the rest of the season. So, playing him on Saturday or Sunday might be a risky decision. Even in the games that Matthews has played this season, for the most part, he hasn’t possessed the dominant force of his 69-goal campaign last year, with 20 goals and 45 points to date in 2024-25.
On the other hand, Marner has had a phenomenal regular season up until this point, only missing one game and putting up 71 points in 54 games. Even for him though you have to worry about health because these guys are only human and overuse could lead to an unfortunate injury. These games at 4 Nations have been at a faster pace and <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/6-takeaways-canada-usa-thriller-mayhem-montreal-guentzel-larkin-elevate">more physical</a> than anyone thought, with multiple players saying it feels like a series of playoff games. At the end of the day, the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is going to do what he thinks is best for the team in regards to them playing or not.
But everyone needs a break at some point and Matthews and Marner deserve it.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-138774" src="https://i0.wp.com/publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/Article-727x404-1.png?resize=728%2C405&#038;ssl=1" alt="" width="728" height="405" /></a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Live</a> is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!

Mitch Marner Team Canada 4 Nations Face-Off

Thursday night, one nation becomes victorious the morning after, everyone flies back to their NHL club teams and the regular season continues.
Regardless of what happens in the Canada vs. USA final, the 4 Nations Face-Off has delivered in every way possible, but while this has been happening, we may have forgotten that the rest of the league got a break for over 10 days. A chance to reset their bodies mentally and physically for the rest of the NHL season. The same can be said for most of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were either on vacation or spending time with their family and just <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/seravalli-maple-leafs-players-4-nations-face-off-playoffs">returned to practice</a> on Tuesday.
But for William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner there was no break.
While Nylander gets a few days rest after being eliminated from the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Monday, Matthews and Marner <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/marner-matthews-chance-to-inspire-leafs-nation-thursday-night">get the honour</a> of playing in arguably the biggest hockey game since the Olympic final in 2010. This will be game three for Matthews in the 4 Nations, who missed Monday’s game vs. Sweden for precautionary reasons, while Marner will be playing in his fourth game.
Either way, a Toronto Maple Leafs player will be lifting the unnamed trophy and celebrating with their country. All this excitement, however, raises the question of whether the Leafs should rest Matthews and Marner this weekend during their back-to-backs against the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks.
The argument to play this weekend
Look, the NHL season is a long and gruelling season, but every player of the 4 Nations knew this tournament was happening and they had the option to pull out if they wanted, just like Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo who withdrew his name from team Canada on Jan 26 because of an injury. So, an argument can be made that if you can play in the 4 Nations Face-Off, you can also play in the NHL regular season games that follow. And while the NHL has never had the problem the NBA does with guys resting, giving guys the chance to rest after this event might open the possibility of it happening again in the future.
If Matthews and Marner do play this weekend, they will be flying back to Toronto on Friday for a home game on Saturday vs. the Carolina Hurricanes, before hitting the road for a short flight to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Sunday. The downfall though is that short flight is the start of a four-game road trip that runs until March 2 in Pittsburgh.
Why they should rest this weekend
The Maple Leafs are in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race, just three points out of first place in the Atlantic—just eight points from being out of the playoffs. But if Matthews and Marner both play, they will have hardly any rest if they play in both or even just one game this weekend. Missing both of them from the lineup would be difficult for sure, but the only ‘good’ team they're playing is Carolina and then they should realistically have an easier matchup on Sunday vs. the Blackhawks.
For Matthews, he’s already missed 15 games this season dealing with injury and while he only missed Monday’s game due to precautionary reasons there is some real worry around if he can stay healthy for the rest of the season. So, playing him on Saturday or Sunday might be a risky decision. Even in the games that Matthews has played this season, for the most part, he hasn’t possessed the dominant force of his 69-goal campaign last year, with 20 goals and 45 points to date in 2024-25.
On the other hand, Marner has had a phenomenal regular season up until this point, only missing one game and putting up 71 points in 54 games. Even for him though you have to worry about health because these guys are only human and overuse could lead to an unfortunate injury. These games at 4 Nations have been at a faster pace and <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/6-takeaways-canada-usa-thriller-mayhem-montreal-guentzel-larkin-elevate">more physical</a> than anyone thought, with multiple players saying it feels like a series of playoff games. At the end of the day, the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is going to do what he thinks is best for the team in regards to them playing or not.
But everyone needs a break at some point and Matthews and Marner deserve it.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-138774" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/Article-727x404-1.png" alt="" width="728" height="405" /></a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Live</a> is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!

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