The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off begins with Team Canada vs Team Sweden on Wednesday, the first of seven games among four countries and 92 NHL players.

For round-robin games, overtime will be held in a 10-minute, 3-on-3 sudden-death period, followed by a three-round shootout. In the final, full 20-minute, five-on-five periods will be played until a goal scored.

The NHL is hitting pause on the 2024-25 regular season, but it's not for an All-Star break — it's for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland are bringing 23 players from the NHL to a week-long competition starting in Montreal and ending in Boston.

The 4 Nations Face-Off features most of the best players from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland, and gives stars like Connor McDavid, San Ramon-born Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mikko Rantanen a chance to play in this type of event for the first time in their professional careers.

The best-on-best event featuring NHL players from the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland gets underway Wednesday.