Finland projected lines, defense pairs, goalies for 4 Nations Face-Off by NHL.com

The 4 Nations Face-Off starts Wednesday, and though most of the rosters are set, last-minute replacements for injury are still being made and will be until Monday.

So, it's time to get down to brass tacks and figure out line combinations, defense pairs and goalie depth charts for Team Canada, Team United States, Team Finland and Team Sweden.

Practices start Monday and the first game for each country is Wednesday or Thursday, so much of this will need to be figured out ahead of time.

With that in mind, a team of three NHL.com writers and editors will take a crack at the lineup for each country.

Here, NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke, staff writer Tracey Myers and NHL.com/fi editor Sami Haapasalo give their opinion on how Team Finland should line up when it opens the tournament against Team USA at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

The 4 Nations Face-Off will be held from Feb. 12-20 at Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston. Tickets for each site are on sale now.

Forwards (13)

Artturi Lehkonen -- Aleksander Barkov -- Mikko Rantanen

Patrik Laine -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen

Roope Hintz -- Mikael Granlund -- Kaapo Kakko

Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Joel Armia

Erik Haula

Existing chemistry will be a key in a short tournament like this, and Team Finland has plenty of it. The Finns have great depth at center and some of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. Stanley Cup champion and two-time Selke Award winner Barkov of the Florida Panthers will captain the team and be the undisputed No. 1 center. Rantanen, who was recently traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, and Lehkonen were linemates for the Colorado Avalanche and will flank Barkov on the top line. Aho and Teravainen, who is now with the Chicago Blackhawks, played several years together in Carolina, so they'll be a good fit on the second line. Laine of the Montreal Canadiens, who could be the X-factor, possesses elite goal-scoring talent but isn't that strong defensively, so he'll fit nicely on a scoring line. Hintz and Granlund, who are now teammates for the Dallas Stars and can each play center and wing, will form the third line with Kakko, who has played well for the Seattle Kraken. The Panthers' dynamic duo of Lundell and Luostarinen will continue playing together on the fourth line. Versatile and experienced Armia of the Canadiens completes the line with his defensive awareness. New Jersey Devils forward Haula is recovering from an ankle injury, so he'll start as the 13th forward. -- Haapasalo

Defensemen (7)

Niko Mikkola -- Esa Lindell

Olli Maatta -- Rasmus Ristolainen

Juuso Valimaki -- Henri Jokiharju

Urho Vaakanainen

The Finns certainly lost a big piece of their defensive puzzle with Miro Heiskanen, who's out week to week with a knee injury sustained against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 28. So I'm going to move Mikkola to the top spot on the left side to join Lindell, who can play both sides but I'm in need of a dependable right-handed shot up there. Maatta will bump up to the left side of the second pair to join Ristolainen. Yes, Jokiharju and Ristolainen played a few seasons together with the Buffalo Sabres and familiarity is a good thing, but a few years have passed since they were teammates. The third pair would be Valimaki and Jokiharju, with Vaakanainen, who replaced the injured Jani Hakanpaa, as the extra. -- Myers

Goalies (3)

Kevin Lankinen

Juuse Saros

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

This could be the decision that defines the tournament for Finland, especially with their defense in a bit of flux with the injury to Heiskanen, who is their linchpin on the blue line. Look, ever since this tournament has been announced, I've been banging the drum that it is Saros' crease to lose. He hasn't quite lost it, but he's put it up for grabs. Here is my thinking: Go with the confident goalie, which is Lankinen. In his fifth NHL season, Lankinen has set a career-high in wins (18) and a career-best in goals-against average (2.57). His .904 save percentage is the best among the three goalies on this roster. If he falters in the first game against the United States, you go back to Saros for the rivalry game against Sweden (on Feb. 15). If he plays well, you stick with the hot hand. Luukkonen is held in reserve, groomed to be a better option in the Olympics next February. That's how I would play it. -- Roarke