Deen’s Daily: 4 Nations Rosters Due Dec. 4; Avalanche Bounceback; Ovechkin Stays Hot

The 4 Nations Faceoff is inching ever so close. It’s not quite the most interesting format but as hockey fans await the 2026 Winter Olympics, it’ll serve as a taste of what best-on-best hockey might look like 12 months later. We’re all starved for a Team Canada vs Team USA matchup, anyway, so why not get a preview in a few months?

The biggest question remains: Who plays goalie for Team Canada?

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the rosters for the 4 Nations Faceoff will be revealed on Dec. 4. St Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who is on Canada’s radar, surrendered eight goals on just 27 shots against the Capitals. And he’s supposed to be one of the favorites.

The other names in the conversation are Sam Montembeault, Darcy Kuemper, Cam Talbot, Adin Hill, Logan Thompson, and perhaps Stuart Skinner. None of them quite inspire the same type of confidence you’d have in either of the three goalies expected to be named to Team USA. Even some of the guys expected to be left off the American roster, like Joseph Woll, are arguably a better option than anything Canada has to offer in 2025.

Regardless of who it is, we’ll have the rosters in less than a month.

Colorado Hockey Now

Strong performance from the Avalanche on Saturday, defeating the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 to end their eight-game winning streak. Colorado entered the contest 1-3-0 in its last four games despite feeling good about how it’s played in two prior games this week. The stars stepped up, again, on the scoresheet. And one of them, Mikko Rantanen, spoke in depth about ending his recent goal-scoring drought.

Rantanen has four goals in his last three games.

Around The NHL

Ovi Goal Chase: As long as Alex Ovechkin keeps on scoring, I’ll keep on admiring his hot start. With two of Washington’s goals on Binnington, Ovechkin became the seventh player this season to reach 10 goals. He’s 39 years old.

Ovechkin needs 32 more to pass Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. Buckle up, because it feels like he wants to break the record this season.

Philly Hockey Now: Another report from Friedman: The Ryan Johansen contract termination saga isn’t expected to reach its end anytime soon. Read more about it here, courtesy of Jonathan Bailey in Philadelphia.

Montreal Hockey Now: It’s well documented at this point that the Habs aren’t happy with their slow start to the season. Their big offseason acquisition, Patrik Laine, was injured in the preseason and hasn’t yet made his Montreal debut. He did, however, take the next step in his recovery.