Team Canada, Team USA, and Team Sweden practised at the Bell Centre on Tuesday ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

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The last time Mitch Marner and William Nylander faced off, it ended in heartbreak for Team Canada.

Marner's final shootout attempt in the gold-medal game at the 2017 World Championship was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist, who was bowled over by an exuberant Nylander in the Swedish celebration that followed.

"Thanks for bringing that up," Marner said with a grin and a grimace when asked about the previous showdown with his Toronto Maple Leafs teammate.

Nylander's memory wasn't quite as clear.

"Was that the time we won?" asked Nylander, who was named the tournament MVP. "Yeah, so, it was obviously a lot of fun playing against him. We won that one, so hopefully we win again."

Nylander believes the gold medal is hanging somewhere in his apartment back home in Stockholm.

Is Marner looking for a bit of payback on Wednesday when Canada takes on Sweden in the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off?

"Maybe," the 27-year-old winger said. "The Worlds are a little different. Some guys can't be there, obviously. That's why this tournament is really exciting. It's best on best."

Just like in 2017 in Cologne, Germany, Marner and Nylander will be playing in prominent roles in Montreal this week.

Marner, who leads the Leafs with 71 points, is slotting in beside Connor McDavid and Sam Reinhart on Canada's top line. Nylander can't pinpoint just one area for his new Swedish teammates to focus on when it comes to slowing down Marner.

"It's just so hard to say that he does one in particular thing all the time," Nylander noted. "He's very, very shifty and hard to read."

Nylander, who leads the Leafs with 33 goals, will start on Sweden's second line with Mika Zibanejad and Rickard Rakell. Marner's advice to teammates when it comes to stopping Nylander?

"Try not to watch the puck," Marner warned. "He likes to make people look silly. He's very, very skilled out there. Easy, smooth with the puck, and makes a lot of things happen where it doesn't look like something should be there."

This is a big moment and one Marner and Nylander have waited years to experience. The atmosphere will be electric.

"It will be nice to be on their side for once," Marner said of the Bell Centre crowd. "It will be nicer to be cheered for than booed and yelled at.”

Nylander is expecting a similar sensation to when the Leafs play here.

"You're buzzing going into the game," Nylander said.

Considering the anticipation for the return of best-on-best hockey, the energy could even go up a notch from an NHL game.

"If it goes up a notch from that Saturday Montreal-Toronto game we had here [on Jan. 18], it's going to be bananas," Marner said. "This crowd's always great. It's always a pretty crazy game when we come here with the atmosphere."

The moment also brings a lot of pressure.

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