The 4 Nations Face-Off kicks off here at the Bell Centre in exactly two months ... and highlight-reel passes like this from Rickard Rakell apparently just aren't needed by Team Sweden:
"Sometimes it's just clicking," Rakell said of his line's game. "We talked about having a guy in the slot and just letting the first two guys go to work. We tried to not get them so tight on us down low, and that opened up some plays for us through the middle ice."
Rakell's own two-goal game brought him to 13 goals on the season, third-most among all Swedish players in the NHL.
Marcus Pettersson told me after Rakell was snubbed from Sweden's roster that he thinks it will only fuel him -- "He doesn't let it get to him, but he still keeps that in the back of his mind and pushes forward. I think it can go both ways -- you don't want to just discard it, you want that kind of fire."
Rakell has three goals and three assists in four games since rosters were announced on Dec. 4.
THE ASYLUM
Drive to the Net: That Rakell pass!
The 4 Nations Face-Off kicks off here at the Bell Centre in exactly two months ... and highlight-reel passes like this from Rickard Rakell apparently just aren't needed by Team Sweden:
"Sometimes it's just clicking," Rakell said of his line's game. "We talked about having a guy in the slot and just letting the first two guys go to work. We tried to not get them so tight on us down low, and that opened up some plays for us through the middle ice."
Rakell's own two-goal game brought him to 13 goals on the season, third-most among all Swedish players in the NHL.
Marcus Pettersson told me after Rakell was snubbed from Sweden's roster that he thinks it will only fuel him -- "He doesn't let it get to him, but he still keeps that in the back of his mind and pushes forward. I think it can go both ways -- you don't want to just discard it, you want that kind of fire."
Rakell has three goals and three assists in four games since rosters were announced on Dec. 4.
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