Lundell talks Finland-Sweden rivalry at 4 Nations Face-Off on '@TheRink' podcast

Anton Lundell is ready to represent Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and ready to battle one of his Florida Panthers teammates as well.

The forward discusses the rivalry between Finland and Sweden, Finland’s chances in the best-on-best tournament and how he would fare against Panthers teammate Matthew Tkachuk when Finland plays the United States on the latest episode of the “NHL @TheRink” podcast presented by SKIP.

Lundell also talks about playing with Panthers teammate Aleksander Barkov for Team Finland, his excitement for the first best-on-best tournament featuring NHL players since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and more during his interview with podcast co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke.

The 4 Nations Face-Off will be played Feb. 12-20 at Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston. Lundell and the Finns will play their first game of the tournament against the United States at Bell Centre on Feb. 13 (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

Lundell predicts that he would win a puck battle in the corner with Tkachuk, who will represent the United States.

Rosen and Roarke open the episode talking about the trade chatter surrounding Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller. The co-hosts each think the Canucks need to figure out how to keep Miller and potentially add to the team rather than trade him, but they also wonder if that ship has sailed.

They discuss potential destinations for Miller, including the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes.

Speaking of the Rangers, are they back? Rosen and Roarke discuss the Rangers’ success of late and why their season appears to be turning around, with a focus on goalie Igor Shesterkin.

In addition, they talk about if the Montreal Canadiens should be buyers or sellers ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7, though they admit it probably is too soon to predict that.

Following the segment with Lundell, Rosen and Roarke get into a heated debate about who should be the captains for the United States and Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. They agree it should be Barkov for Finland and Tampa Bay Lightning defensemen Victor Hedman for Sweden, but they're not on the same page when it comes to the U.S. and Canada.

They also talk briefly about Kirill Kaprizov's return to the Minnesota Wild lineup after missing 12 games because of a lower-body injury and if the Nashville Predators are starting to come together.

The "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It also is available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.