- The 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament started on Wednesday in Montreal.
- Canada survived an overtime thriller with a 4-3 win over Sweden.
- The United States rolled to a 6-1 romp over Finland.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is underway as NHL players are playing the first best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Canada opened as a narrow favorite over the United States, but could these powerhouses get wins in their first games?
Canada faced a tough Sweden team that gave them everything they could handle on Wednesday night. The United States flexed their muscles on Thursday night against Finland.
Marner’s OT Winner Helps Canada Escape Sweden
The Canadians were slight favorites in the 4 Nations Face-Off betting odds to open the tournament, and they jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead, thanks to goals by Nathan McKinnon and Brad Marchand. Jonas Brodin cut Sweden’s deficit to 2-1 in the second period, but Mark Stone scored late to give Canada a 3-1 lead into the third.
Adrian Kempe and Joel Eriksson Ek scored in the third to take the game to overtime, but ultimately, it was Mitch Marner who scored the winner to give Canada the 4-3 victory.
Canada captain Sidney Crosby fought off an arm injury to play in this tournament, and he led the way with three assists. Jordan Binnington made 23 saves for Canada, who played most of the game with five defensemen after Shea Theodore suffered an upper-body injury. He’ll be replaced in the Canadian lineup by Philadelphia’s Travis Sanheim. For Sweden, Lucas Raymond had a pair of assists, while Filip Gustavsson stopped 24 shots for Sweden.
Canada dropped a point as they only received two for the overtime win, while Sweden takes home a point.
Tkachuk Brothers Lead USA Rout of Finland
The Americans staked their claim to being the favorites in their opener against Finland on Thursday, also in Montreal. Sweden’s Henri Jokiharju opened the scoring, but then it was all USA. Brady Tkachuk leveled the score in the first period, and Matt Boldy gave the United States the lead in the second.
Team USA was the better team, and they finally broke Finland in the third period, scoring four goals. Matthew Tkachuk scored after just 15 seconds, and Jake Guentzel lit the lamp 11 seconds later. Brady Tkachuck got his second three minutes in, and Matthew Tkachuck made sure his younger brother didn’t get the better of him with his second goal after 11:13 to complete a 6-1 romp over Finland.
Matthew finished with two goals and an assist to two goals for Brady Tkachuck, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 20 shots. Juuse Saros did his best in stopping 26 shots for Finland, who were overwhelmed by the USA’s physicality. Brady Tkachuck led all players, by far, with eight hits on the night!
Canada-USA Showdown Looming on Saturday Night
NHL betting sites will be roaring with action on Saturday night. Finland and Sweden meet at 1:00 PM ET, but USA-Canada will take the spotlight at 8:00 PM ET. Canada is a slight favorite for this game in Montreal, and Canada will be looking to get to the top of the standings as they have two points to three for the United States.
With all due respect to Sweden and Finland, Canada-USA should be a preview of the final, to be held on Thursday, February 20, in Boston. All eyes will be on Saturday night’s game as the winner will take a big advantage into the final round of games on Monday, February 17.
