MONTREAL -- The 4 Nations Face-Off starts three weeks from Wednesday in Montreal, but the rivalry between Sweden and Finland is already heating up.
Just ask Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine, who will represent Finland on his home rink at Bell Centre in Montreal.
"We hate them, that's pretty much it," Laine said Tuesday. "Nothing else to say about that."
Finland will play its first two games at Bell Centre, facing the United States in each team's opening game of the tournament Feb. 13 before their much-anticipated matchup against Sweden on Feb. 15.
"It's always been a rivalry," Laine said. "It doesn't matter if it's hockey or everything else, we'll try to be better than them. I feel like it's kind of the same as the U.S.-Canada kind of thing, so it will be cool to play against those guys and hopefully beat them."
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, who will play for Sweden, described the rivalry this way: "It's big brother against little brother."
When asked if he is saying Sweden is the big brother, Hedman said, "[Finland] probably thinks it's the other way."
No matter who feels who is the big brother, this much is certain: The game will be emotional, and the fans who attend will be entertained.
"We want to go out there and try to win that game. They are a good team," Hedman said. "It's what makes hockey great, the rivalries between countries, that's what really makes it exciting for fans to watch."
Laine entered Tuesday tied with Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi for fourth in the NHL with 10 power-play goals this season despite missing the first two months because of a knee injury. He has 17 points (12 goals, five assists) in 19 games after helping Montreal defeat Tampa Bay 3-2 here on Tuesday.
He is looking forward to the opportunity to play elite hockey teaming up with Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, also from Tampere, Finland.
"I mean, I've known him forever," Laine said. "He kind of did the same career path as I did but he just did it three years before me. And then the first time we played was my draft year at the [2016 IIHF World Championship], and ever since that, we've been working out in the summers together. We live pretty close by and we're spending a pretty good amount of time, and he'll be one of my groomsmen at my wedding.
