Hedman hopes to start 4 Nations Face-Off with 2nd straight win against Cooper

MONTREAL -- Victor Hedman is hoping to stretch his winning streak against Jon Cooper to two games on Wednesday.

"Hopefully I can keep it going," Hedman, Sweden's captain and No. 1 defenseman, said with a grin Tuesday, one day before his team faces Canada, coached by Cooper, in the first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

Hedman has played 858 regular-season games for the Tampa Bay Lightning since Cooper's first game as Lightning coach, March 29, 2013. He's also played 147 Stanley Cup Playoff games for Cooper.

Together, they won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021, and it was with Cooper that Hedman won the Norris Trophy in 2018 as the best defenseman in the NHL and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2020 as most valuable player of the playoffs.

On Wednesday, they will see each other as opponents.

Victor Hedman in action during Sweden's practice Monday at CN Sports Complex in Brossard, Quebec, and the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy on display at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Hedman settled into a chair to chat and immediately was greeted by Finland legend Teemu Selanne with a handshake and a bright word.

He was happy to playfully provide a bit of detail on his one career win against Cooper, a 2-1 shootout victory for Sweden in the gold-medal game against Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.

"Every time I walk into Jon's office (at Amalie Arena in Tampa), he has the silver medal sitting right there. I have the gold one at home," Hedman said.

Goalie Henrik Lundqvist stoned Canada's Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point and Mitch Marner, all on Canada's 4 Nations team, as well as Ryan O'Reilly, in the shootout to clinch gold for Sweden.

Hedman had scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period to give Sweden a 1-0 lead.

From left: Sweden's Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Elias Lindholm, William Nylander, Victor Hedman and Linus Omark listen to their national anthem after a 2-1 shootout win against Canada in the gold-medal game at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.

"I got a fortunate bounce," Hedman said after the game. "I wasn’t really friends with the puck there in the second period. I just threw it at the net. I got a lucky bounce and the puck had eyes. It was good."

On Tuesday, after Canada's practice, Cooper considered seeing his Lightning captain in the "other" jersey in the tournament opener.

"I don't like playing against guys you've gone to war with," Cooper said. "Now all of a sudden, it's for one game. I cheer for these guys. He's not playing for us, so you've got to put your blinders on. We have to do everything we can to stop him and win this game.

"All you can hope for at the end of the game is that Victor Hedman is best player on the ice for Sweden and Canada won the game."

Canada coach Jon Cooper during his team's practice on Feb. 10 at CN Sports Complex in Brossard, Quebec.

It had been all of two days since Hedman had been on Bell Centre ice. Last time he was here was Sunday, scoring a goal, assisting on another and playing 23:50 on 27 shifts to help his Lightning to a 5-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens.

On Tuesday, Hedman was back on the arena rink, the giant CH logo at center ice replaced with "Confrontation des 4 Nations," the French translation of 4 Nations Face-Off.

The 34-year-old native of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, had traded one captain's "C" for another. On Sunday, Hedman had the letter stitched on his Lightning jersey; for a team photo before practice Tuesday, he was wearing the C above the three-crown crest of his native Sweden.

Sweden was on the ice following the United States, and ahead of Canada and Finland on 4 Nations Face-Off Media Day, during which team photos were taken, practices were held and coaches, general managers and players sat in the glare of TV lights in a forest of microphones to offer some of their final thoughts before the first best-on-best tournament to include NHL players since the World Cup of Hockey 2016 gets underway.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman celebrates his goal against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Feb. 11, 2025.

"I'm pretty sure it's the same weight," Hedman said of trading the C on his Lightning jersey for that of Sweden.

Sitting maybe 50 feet across from him, not that he could see it through the bodies clustered in front of him, was the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy.

"It's super special to represent your country in that regard," Hedman said. "Being captain in the NHL is very special as well, but to represent your country and wear the C is something you dream about as a kid. It was special putting it on today for the team photo. We're ready to go tomorrow night."

Hedman brings an impressive body of international work to the 4 Nations, beyond his NHL achievements. He's won medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship (silver in 2008 and 2009) and the 2017 Worlds (gold, plus bronze in 2010 and 2024). He also played for his native country at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

As the home team Wednesday, Sweden will use the Canadiens' expansive dressing room, described as "phenomenal" by Hedman.

There's no secret to what his team must do to shut down Canada before a crowd that's expected to be hugely supportive of the host country.

"We've got to be aggressive in our mindset, don't let them have the time and space," he said. "That's when they burn you. It's going to be very important for us to be on our toes, not sit back, make sure we're physical on them whenever we can be."

If Hedman has a 2-0 lead on Cooper by night's end, Canada will awaken to a very tough reality, with the United States next up Saturday.

Top photo: Sweden captain Victor Hedman speaks with reporters at Bell Centre on the eve of his team's 4 Nations Face-Off game against Canada.