It appears that Team Sweden has decided to scratch Mattias Ekholm while Team USA will sit Connor Hellebuyck just hours before the puck is set to drop. Sweden made two changes to its roster for <a href='https://www.si.com/onsi/breakaway/news-feed-page/team-usa-makes-lineup-changes-against-team-sweden' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Monday night's elimination game against the United States</a>. Forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Mattias Ekholm of <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>the Oilers</a> won't play, and Rasmus Andersson and Leo Carlsson will replace them. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/DFOFantasy/status/1891524516553064482'> </a></blockquote></div> <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/player/mattias-ekholm-8475218' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Ekholm</a> performed well enough against Canada but had a tough time in Sweden's 4-3 loss to Finland. He was on the ice for Mikko Rantanen's and Aleksander Barkov's important goals and blew important defensive coverages. Sweden has maintained a 52.8% share of shot attempts, a 51.9% share of scoring chances, and a 43.9% share of expected goals with him on the ice. Sweden has tied at 1-1 in his 33 minutes. <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/player/viktor-arvidsson-8478042' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Arvidsson</a> has not played much, with only 19 minutes of five-on-five ice time in two games. His ice time dipped a bit from the Canada to Finland matches, so Sweden rearranged its forward group. <h3>Sweden is shuffling their defensive pairings</h3> Along with that, Sweden will also do some shuffling with their defensive pairings. Viktor Hedman and Jonas Brodin will be the first pair, with Gustav Forsling stepping in for Ekholm to be paired with Erik Karlsson. Rasmus Dahlin and Rasmus Andersson will comprise the third pair. Up front, Carlsson will likely skate on the third line with Elias Pettersson and Filip Forsberg. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/FlutoShinzawa/status/1891523062031405175'> </a></blockquote></div> The U.S. is also making some adjustments. Jake Oettinger will be goaltending instead of Connor Hellebuyck, with Jeremy Swayman serving as the backup, which means Hellebuyck will be a healthy scratch. Chris Kreider will take the place of Matthew Tkachuk, who <a href='https://www.nhl.com/news/topic/4-nations-face-off/matthew-tkachuk-4-nations-face-off-injury-status-update-february-17-2025' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>has a lower-body injury.</a> On the defense, Jake Sanderson will play instead of Charlie McAvoy. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1891529731918418111'> </a></blockquote></div> Both teams are attempting to get that correct combination while battling for an important victory.