The 4 Nations Face-Off has exceeded expectations and Thursday’s final, a rematch between Canada and the United States, is setting a high bar for an exciting finish.
The first match between these two was as heated and hard-fought as a playoff game and the final now adds another layer. A chance at a championship, bragging rights, and hockey supremacy for a year.
So as we celebrate the closing of the return of a best-on-best tournament and look forward to what should be another thrilling game, here’s a look at five storylines that will play out in Canada-USA Part 2.
The start of the first Canada-USA matchup in this tournament was as entertaining as you could have asked for. An arena charged up from Mario Lemieux’s appearance at centre ice and the impassioned booing of one anthem and singing of the other led to three fights over the game’s first nine seconds. Sometimes games like these don’t live up to the hype, but Part 1 of this rivalry instantly did.
The chatter has already begun. After the Tkachuks let it out that Saturday’s antics began in a group chat that discussed starting the game with such flare, Canada’s Brandon Hagel — one of the fighters — shot back with the insinuation that their side didn’t need to create passion.
“What happened the other night, I think I did it for the flag and not for the cameras,” Hagel said. “We don’t have any group chats going on. We’re going out there playing and then giving it everything.”
Matthew Tkachuk came back on Friday: “Maybe their team doesn’t like each other then if they don’t have group chats.”
“We care about one thing in this room and we have millions of people watching us and supporting us around this country and we’re very prideful of playing for them and the guys in this room,” Tkachuk said.
More is on the line this time, as the tournament ends with a one-game championship. The setting is different, now in Boston. So how differently will the teams come out of the gate? Will tensions boil over as quickly this time, or possibly at other points in the game? Or will this be more focused on the task at hand: getting out of this event with bragging rights until next year’s Olympics?
WHO’S PLAYING AND HOW HEALTHY ARE THEY?
Cale Makar missed the first game between these rivals but returned against Finland and will be in Thursday’s lineup. That’s a huge addition for Canada.
Team USA, meantime, has some concerns.
We know they’ll be without Charlie McAvoy, who has been hospitalized with a “significant injury” to his right shoulder and won’t immediately return to Boston’s lineup after the 4 Nations. That means Jake Sanderson will be in for a second game after he logged 17:08 in a 2-1 loss to Sweden.
Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews didn’t play in the game against Sweden either, but both were at practice Wednesday.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” Matthews said. “Just woke up Monday in a lot of discomfort, skating didn’t feel good. So I just made a decision with the staff to hold me out of that game and just focus on feeling better.”
Matthew Tkachuk also said he was ready to go for the final.
However, Brady Tkachuk wasn’t feeling well and did not practice with the Americans on Wednesday, though both his brother and head coach Mike Sullivan said they anticipated he’d be ready to go.
For a brief time, there was a Quinn Hughes question. A confusing bit of communication began Tuesday with Sullivan suggesting that Hughes was on his way to Boston, which opened up speculation and opinion as to his eligibility to play in the game. Hughes decided to sit out the tournament with an injury, but was of course on the Americans’ initial roster.
In the end, the long-distance travel without knowing if he’d play was too much and Hughes won’t be in Boston after all. However, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported the Americans did invite Brett Pesce and Tage Thompson — located in New Jersey and Buffalo — to Boston for insurance. Neither player would be eligible to play or practice with Team USA unless they fell a player short at their positions and while it doesn’t seem like that will be the case now, we don’t know the full extent of what’s going on behind the scenes.
Even if all of these players are well enough to play, eyes will be fixated on them because they’re all important to the success of their teams. How effective will they be? Are they battling through an injury or sickness to play in the big game? And how will that change the flavour of this one?
Connor Hellebuyck has stepped up to the moment and been the best goalie at the 4 Nations Face-Off, with a .957 save percentage and 1.00 goals-against average in two games. Take any goalie in this event for a one-game showdown and most everyone you’d ask would pick Team USA’s stopper.
But while Jordan Binnington’s save percentage has been a much less shiny .892, he’s been up to the task for Canada. His play in OT against Sweden is what got Canada out of there with two points and earned him the No. 1 job the rest of the way. He only allowed two goals against the Americans and only one against Finland until the final two minutes of that 5-3 win.
On the flip side of perception, Binnington allowed the Swedes back into the tournament opener after Canada held leads of 2-0 and 3-1. He let Finland off the mat and gave them a glimmer of hope late in Monday’s game. And the weak Jake Guentzel goal he allowed against the Americans was a back-breaker.
Hellebuyck, meanwhile, has allowed the first goal of the game in both of his starts but closed the door afterwards. Adam Vingan wrote about a subtle weakness Canada may be able to exploit in Hellebuyck’s game when it comes to second chance opportunities. Hellebuyck’s rebound control hasn’t been as strong in the small sample size of the 4 Nations Face-Off, but it’s enough to know that if it creeps into Thursday’s game, it could be the difference in another tight checking, low-scoring game.
Binnington has won a Stanley Cup and indeed won Game 7 of the final in Boston back in 2019. Hellebuyck, meanwhile, has more often shrivelled in the biggest moments and has two wins in his past 10 playoff games. Thursday’s final will either continue these narratives for the two goalies or open up new ones.
WHO CAN PRODUCE DOWN THE LINEUP?
Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby have been the stars producing for Canada to this point and will again be in focus when the puck drops on Thursday’s final. But if this next match-up is anything like the last one — hard to get to the prime scoring areas, few goals to come by — then the difference could be found in the margins.
Despite scoring the three-on-three winner in OT against Sweden, Mitch Marner has had a pretty quiet tournament for Canada, averaging 17:47 a game but a minus-2. Sam Bennett has been to and through the hard areas but doesn’t have a point to show for it yet. Sam Reinhart has become one of the better goal-scorers in NHL action but has been shut out at the 4 Nations. Seth Jarvis has quietly been one of the more disappointing players for the Canadians and may not even play in the final. Even Brad Marchand — playing in front of his home NHL crowd on Thursday — has been moved down the lineup and played just 8:23 in the first meeting with the Americans.
And yet, would anyone be surprised if any of these players delivered in the big moment?
Likewise, the Tkachuks have been getting all the attention and most of the production for the Americans, while Zach Werenski is tied for the tournament-scoring lead with Crosby.
But Auston Matthews hasn’t scored yet, and neither has Kyle Connor, one of six snipers with at least 30 goals this NHL season. J.T. Miller hasn’t recorded a point yet and neither has trade candidate Brock Nelson.
These are the players we’re looking at to deliver in the final, capable of making a world of difference.
SETTING THE TONE FOR ITALY
When Canada lost the first game, there was of course a lot of reaction in this country.
• “That game showed why Tom Wilson should have been on this team!”
• “Canada could have used Mark Scheifele’s offence!”
• “We need bigger wingers to contend with the Americans!”
• “The goaltending disadvantage is too great!”
Of course, last Saturday was just one game, decided by just one goal plus an empty-netter. A different result this time will leave us with entirely different takeaways, and views on what we should learn about Canada’s roster construction and how it should inform the Milano Cortina Olympic team next winter.
More than any other before it, Thursday’s game is what will set the tone for the Olympics. Will Canada arrive as the champion of the most recent head-to-head? Will anyone who hasn’t stepped up yet come through with such a clutch performance they all but lock in a roster spot in 2026?
What really are Canada’s weaknesses and strengths as a hockey nation right now?
This is the game that will give us the most important lessons about where Canada is at and what Canada needs before the Olympic tournament. A win and suddenly all of the negativity from Saturday is gone. A loss in similar fashion, however, will leave behind some hard questions with a year until the next best-on-best event.
