US duo of Jake Sanderson and Brock Faber together again with Quinn Hughes out of 4 Nations Face-Off

BROSSARD, Quebec (AP) — An unfortunate injury to Quinn Hughes knocked the reigning Norris Trophy winner out of the U.S. lineup for the 4 Nations Face-Off and opened the door for a younger defenseman to make some Olympic hockey history.

USA Hockey selected 22-year-old Jake Sanderson to replace Hughes. Sanderson joining the U.S. puts him back together with Brock Faber three years after they were teammates in the Beijing Olympic bubble after the NHL pulled out at the eleventh hour because of pandemic-related scheduling issues.

Faber, the rookie of the year runner-up last season with Minnesota, and Sanderson now have the best chances of being the only U.S. players at back-to-back Olympics in 2022 and ’26 with Milan on the horizon.

“We’re focused on this tournament, but it’s hard not to look in the future with the possibility of an opportunity like that,” Faber said Monday. “That’s definitely something we both strive to be a part of. It would be a huge honor to represent this country on the biggest stage like that.”

The U.S. would have loved to have brothers Quinn and Jack Hughes together for the 4 Nations. But the Vancouver captain, who was injured in a recent game, decided it was in his and the Canucks' best interest to sit this one out.

“People get injured all the time, and I was looking forward to spending time with him, but it’s all good, and hopefully he heals up and is ready to go for a big second half with Vancouver,” said Jack, who is one of the faces of the New Jersey Devils. “Obviously, it’s frustrating. He’s not the only one though. I mean, there’s a lot of good players that are injured and can’t play in this tournament. But definitely something he was fighting over for a week now since he got injured, and he wants to be a part of this.”

It's now an opportunity for Sanderson, a big piece of Ottawa's future, to show he belongs in the national team conversation for the Olympics when it has the world's best players, like the 4 Nations.

“This is best on best,” Sanderson said. “I think the Olympics, there wasn’t NHL players there, so this is a whole new monster.”

Much like the U.S. with Hughes, Finland lost an elite defenseman when Miro Heiskanen injured his left knee and underwent surgery that changed his status to “month to month.” Finland also lost two other veterans at the position, Jani Hakanpää and Rasmus Ristolainen, testing the country's depth in a year with a lack of potential options.

“We lost Heiskanen: No secret he was our best D," center Sebastian Aho said. "He’s a superstar, obviously, and he’s not here, so somebody else has to step in. I think it’s more as a group we have to fill those holes, not just the one player. We have to step up as a group and maybe help in some areas that we need help and, obviously, work as unit.”

Captain Aleskander Barkov, the best defensive forward in the league, has skated a few shifts back on defense and is ready to go to the rescue if absolutely, positively needed.

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Barkov said. “Whatever they tell me to do, I’ll do, but I think we have good enough defensemen there.”

Drew Doughty has played just six games with the Los Angeles Kings since recovering from surgery to repair a broken left ankle. Still, the 35-year-old leapt at the opportunity of being added to Canada's roster to replace fellow two-time Stanley Cup champion Alex Pietrangelo, who withdrew.

Wanting to represent Canada after winning Olympic gold in 2010 and ‘14 was Doughty’s top motivation, but it wasn't the only one.

“It’s good for me to play hockey,” Doughty said. “Like, I don’t need to go on vacation for two more weeks, my ankle blows up or something. You know what I mean? This is good for me and good for the LA Kings because when I come back I’ll be rolling and hopefully make our team a lot better.”

When Doughty plays, it'll be with the jersey No. 89. Cale Makar, who has supplanted Doughty as the country's most well-rounded defenseman, has his usual No. 8.

“It was too late to switch numbers and stuff,” Doughty said. “I’m sure he would have given me it. But I was born in ’89, so I went with 89. It’s going to look weird but whatever.”

Sweden found out a few weeks ago goaltender Jacob Markstrom would not be available for the 4 Nations because of injury. Around the same time, 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark was nursing some back problems.

Ullmark went out just before Christmas but insists now that within a week or so he was not worried about making it back in time.

“It didn’t feel like we had to rush through the process to get me to be a part of this team,' said Ullmark, who starts for the Senators. “Once we kind of settled that in and talked it over and had the communication throughout this whole process, from the beginning, I never felt that I was stressed about it or concerned that I wasn’t going to be a part of it.”

Sweden also has Filip Gustavsson and Samuel Ersson, Markstrom's replacement, but Ullmark is the most accomplished of the three.

“I played with him a couple years ago, so I know how good he is and how good he makes the defense feel just for him to be out there,” Buffalo captain and countryman Rasmus Dahlin said. “I’m very happy he’s healthy and ready to go.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) looks at the scoreboard after Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett scored a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

FILE - Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) skates with the puck during the first period an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, March 16, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

U.S. players Jake Sanderson, left and Brock Faber talk during a 4 Nations Face-Off hockey practice in Brossard, Que., on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As residents across much of the country take down their holiday decorations, sobered by New Year's resolutions and a return to business as usual, in Louisiana people are ramping up for the biggest celebration of the year.

Throughout the state residents are preparing for Carnival season, a pre-Lenten and weeks-long bash that includes feasting on savory dishes, opulent balls and a stream of massive parades rolling through city streets.

The bucket-list worthy period of festivities promises indulgence, costumed revelry and literal pounds of glimmery plastic beads to carry around one’s neck. Here’s what to know about Carnival.

Carnival in Louisiana and around the world is rooted in Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. It's marked by feasting, drinking and revelry before Ash Wednesday and the fasting associated with Lent, the Christian season of preparation for Easter.

Each year, along with Louisiana residents, more than a million visitors travel to New Orleans to partake in the city’s world-famous celebration.

However, the festivities are not limited to the Big Easy. Similar celebrations stretch across Louisiana and into other Gulf Coast states, including Alabama, where Mobile lays claim to the nation’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration. Additionally, there are world-renowned celebrations in Brazil and Europe.

Although some people use the terms “Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” interchangeably, they are actually different things.

Carnival is the entire pre-Lenten period. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is one day.

Mardi Gras marks the grand conclusion to Carnival Season. It falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, making it the final moments of indulgence before the solemnity of Lent.

Carnival always begins Jan. 6, which in the Catholic world is called Epiphany or Twelfth Night since it’s twelve days after Christmas. And the season always ends with Mardi Gras.

But, because it’s linked to Easter — which does not have a fixed date — Mardi Gras can fall anywhere between Feb. 3 and March 9. This year Fat Tuesday is on Feb. 17, making Carnival 43 days long.

The beginning of Carnival also marks the start of when it is socially acceptable — and encouraged — to eat king cake. Lines will snake around the block at popular bakeries known for the seasonal staple

The brioche-style pastry, which some bakers say traces back to an ancient Roman holiday, has become one of the iconic and most-delicious symbols of Carnival.

The traditional ring-shaped and sweet-dough cake is streaked with cinnamon and adorned with decadent icing colored purple, green and gold. The cake is often filled with fruits, pecans or different flavors of cream cheese frosting.

Also in the treat is a tiny plastic baby. Whoever has the slice with the little figurine hidden inside is supposed to buy the next cake or throw the next party, lending an unending excuse for another festive gathering.

The traditional cake has evolved over the years with restaurants launching their own unique versions, including one that is filled with boudin — a Cajun-style sausage — and another that is made out of sushi rolls.

Carnival is best know for elaborate and massive parades. This season there will be more than 80 parades in and surrounding New Orleans — many of which last hours.

Energetic marching bands, costumed dancers and multi-level floats laden with fantastical hand-built figures, will wind through communities.

The parades embody their own identity. They include an all-female parade, one that pokes fun at politics, a Sci-Fi themed parade with revelers dressed as Chewbacca. The largest parade hosts 3,200 riders and more than 80 floats, and one of the smallest, in the literal sense, features floats made out of shoe boxes.

Float riders and walking members of Carnival clubs — known as krewes — pour much time and money into preparations for the extravaganza. But all that work pays off as celebrants, many donning homemade costumes, line streets and sidewalks to watch.

Most spectators will have their hands raised in hopes of catching “throws” — trinkets tossed to the crowd by float riders. While throws include plastic beads, candy, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and toys, there are also the more coveted items such as painted coconuts, highly sought-after hand-decorated shoes and even bedazzled toilet plungers.

The krewe for the largest parade in New Orleans, Endymion, estimates that they toss more than 15 million throws along the parade route. The krewe's motto is, “Throw ’til it Hurts.”

Although Carnival is often known for fancy balls and boisterous parades, other areas and groups have their own traditions.

In central Louisiana people will take part in the Cajun French tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run. These rural processions feature masked and costumed participants who will perform and beg for ingredients, and even chase after live chickens, to use for a communal gumbo at the end of the day.

In New Orleans, some African Americans mask in elaborate beaded and feathered Mardi Gras Indian suits, roving the city to sing, dance, drum and perform. The tradition, a central part of the Black Carnival experience in New Orleans since at least the late 1800s, is believed to have started in part as a way to pay homage to area Native Americans for their assistance to Black people and runaway slaves. It also developed at a time when segregation barred Black residents from taking part in whites-only parades.

FILE - The streets are filled during the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE- People gather for the start of the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)