Vancouver Canucks star Kevin Lankinen jokingly told the media that he doesn’t plan to speak with Elias Pettersson until after the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The Vancouver Canucks will be well represented at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off in February in Montreal and Boston.

Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller will suit up for Team USA, while Pettersson will represent Sweden, and Lankinen, one of the best stories in the NHL this season, was named to Finland’s roster for the event.

Kevin Lankinen says he won’t speak to Elias Pettersson until after the tournament

One of the biggest rivalries in international hockey is Sweden and Finland — two Nordic powerhouses in the sport.

The two nations have battled it out numerous times at World Juniors, World Championship and even the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy, with Sweden coming out on top thanks to a Nicklas Lidstrom goal 10 seconds in to the third period.

Sweden and Finland will meet again at a best-on-best international event, with Pettersson taking on Lankinen on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

When meeting with reporters this week following the roster announcement, Kevin Lankinen said, with a grin on his face, that he doesn’t plan on speaking to Elias Pettersson until the 4 Nations Face-Off is over.

“Kevin Lankinen jokes that he told Elias Pettersson he won’t speak to him until March ahead of the #4Nations Faceoff,” Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor said.

While Lankinen is clearly joking, the two players likely won’t be speaking to each other much during the tournament as it’s all business and they want to focus on winning the first best-on-best international event since 2016.

The Helsinki, Finland, native has been lights-out since joining the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent back in September, following a summer with uncertainty on where he’d play next.

In 18 games this season, Lankinen has a record of 12-3-3 with a 2.66 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and two shutouts.