NHL.com projects United States’ lines, defense pairs, goalies for 4 Nations

The rosters for the four teams competing in the 4 Nations Face-Off were revealed on Wednesday, and though the teams are now set, there is still plenty of work to be done for Team Canada, Team United States, Team Finland and Team Sweden.

Now, it's up to the respective coaching staffs to find the right line combinations, defense pairs and goalie depth charts to make their teams winners. With only a few practice days between the start of the break in the regular season and the first game of the tournament, most of this will need be figured out ahead of time.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will be held from Feb. 12-20 at Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston. Tickets for each site are on sale now.

With that in mind, a team of three NHL.com writers and editors will take a crack at each country's lineup.

Here, NHL.com senior draft writer Mike Morreale, and senior writers Amalie Benjamin and Dan Rosen give their opinion on how Team USA should line up when it opens the tournament against Finland on Feb. 13 at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Forwards (13)

Kyle Connor -- Jack Eichel -- Matthew Tkachuk

Jake Guentzel -- Auston Matthews -- Jack Hughes

Brady Tkachuk -- Dylan Larkin -- Matt Boldy

J.T. Miller -- Brock Nelson -- Vincent Trocheck

Chris Kreider

The United States has an abundance of riches up front, but slotting will be key. The easy call is to keep Matthew and Brady Tkachuk on the same line for obvious reasons, but the U.S. would be better off with the brothers on separate lines to spread out two of its most effective power wingers. Inserting Matthew of the Florida Panthers with Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights and Connor of the Winnipeg Jets is too tempting to pass up -- that's a double whammy of power along with Connor's elite finishing ability. The other line in the top six could feature Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning with Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hughes of the New Jersey Devils playing on his off wing. Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings and Boldy of the Minnesota Wild would give the U.S. a strong checking-type third line that has a motor and can push the pace. A fourth line of Nelson of the New York Islanders between Trocheck and either Kreider, each of the New York Rangers, or Miller of the Vancouver Canucks would be big, powerful, physical, dangerous and defensively responsible. -- Rosen

Defensemen (7)

Quinn Hughes -- Charlie McAvoy

Jaccob Slavin -- Adam Fox

Zach Werenski -- Brock Faber

Noah Hanifin

The defense is a rock-solid unit, and each player selected will be able to work at his natural position -- Hughes of the Canucks, Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets on the left side and McAvoy of the Boston Bruins, Fox of the Rangers, and Faber of the Wild on the right side. Hanifin of the Golden Knights is a left-hander and will be able to rotate in when needed and could also spell on special teams. Depending on what kind of configuration coach Mike Sullivan cares to employ on the power play, the quarterback at point could be Hughes or Fox, each a fantastic skater and passer. Slavin, 30, is our veteran and has proven to be consistently solid while averaging more than 21 minutes a game this season. Slavin, McAvoy and Fox offer significant time spent on the penalty kill and Hughes, Werenski and Faber are each capable of running a power play. Hanifin has performed well and has earned time on the power play and penalty kill for the Golden Knights this season. -- Morreale

Goalies (3)

Connor Hellebuyck

Jake Oettinger

Jeremy Swayman

This is the most set-in-stone group of any heading to the 4 Nations. It's been Hellebuyck of the Jets, Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Swayman of the Bruins, though a few concerns about Swayman's play this season have crept in. Still, the U.S. goaltending is the envy of any nation and that starts with Hellebuyck. The reigning and two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the NHL should get first dibs on the net. At 31, he’s also the elder statesman of the group. But should be stumble, Oettinger, 26, will be there to pick up any slack. Swayman, 26, has struggled after missing all of training camp before he signed an eight-year contract Oct. 6. But Swayman, like Oettinger, is likely to be a big part of the U.S. future in goal, so having him at 4 Nations remains important, especially with two months to continue to straighten out his game. -- Benjamin