Ex-Senator gets rough welcome to 4 Nations Face-Off opener

Feb. 12 had finally arrived for the 4 Nations Face-Off officially start. The first game featured Canada and Sweden in Montreal at Bell Centre.

The energy and excitement for players to represent their country had finally arrived. The 4 Nations Face-Off is the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey where the best on best players got a chance to compete against one another.

For one former Ottawa Senators player, the beginning of the 4 Nations Face-Off would begin rough against a talented Canada offense.

Filip Gustavsson has rough start to 4 Nations Face-Off

Some might forget that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson began his career with the Senators. In two seasons from 2020-2022 with the Senators, Gustavsson went 10-13-3 with a 3.12 goals against average and .905 save percentage. In July 2022, the Senators traded Gustavsson to the Wild.

Gustavsson has thrived in his 121 career games played with the Wild. Gustavsson has recorded a 64-38-14 record with a 2.61 goals against average and .915 save percentage in his Wild career.

Gustavsson's improvement in goal with the Wild has gotten him respect. With his recent goaltending success, Gustavsson got an opportunity to play for Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, Gustavsson's start in the first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off began rough.

Canada's Nathan MacKinnon scored a powerplay goal just 56 seconds into the game. A rough way to start the game to say the least. Over 12 minutes later, another goal was scored by Brad Marchand.

Marchand had an easy tap-in goal against Gustavsson off of a pass from Brayden Point to make it 2-0 Canada. Canada is currently up 2-0 after the first period. Gustavsson hasn't gotten much offensive support from Sweden as they had three shots on goal in the first period.