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Crosby, Karlsson make 4 Nations Face-Off, but Rakell does not

The 4 Nations Face Off Rosters were recently revealed for the upcoming tournament and there were interesting roster choices when it came to the Penguins.

ByTyler Miller|
Nov 27, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) skates up ice with the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 27, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) skates up ice with the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, the National Hockey League revealed their rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that is coming up in February. The tournament will take place in Montreal and Boston and the Nations represented are the USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland.

Sidney Crosby made the Canada team, Erik Karlsson made the Sweden team, and Rickard Rakell was not included on the Sweden team.

Rakell was robbed of being on the Sweden Team

It is absolutely mindboggling to see that Rakell was left off of the Sweden roster. He absolutely should have made it over the likes of Mika Zibanejad and Elias Pettersson. It makes zero sense as to why he is not on roster and representing his country against big names on the other teams.

I mean sure in Pittsburgh he plays with Crosby and people could think that his stats are a bit inflated, but he has put up bounce-back really good numbers so far this year.

So far this season, Rakell has 10 goals and 6 assists to total 16 points and has looked like the player that he knows he can be. He is a really good winger for Crosby and is back to being the goal-scorer that he was used to being a few years ago.

Zibanejad and Pettersson making the Sweden roster will always be confusing because honestly Rakell deserved it more than one or both of them.

Crosby should help lead Canada to a victory in the tournament

It is no secret that anytime Crosby is named to Canada's national team for a tournament, that he does well in it. Expect the same results in this mini tournment because Crosby ideally should be playing with Marchand on one of his wings.

Crosby and Marchand have had chemistry together ever since they played together the year that Crosby scored the golden goal. Fans should expect more of the same here with Marchand playing next to Crosby and gaining that chemistry back that they had years ago.

If Crosby and Marchand are put on a line together in this tournament, it will be hard for teams to defend them, and they should put up plenty of points.

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